Kerala man arrested for killing 40-day-old daughter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city police have arrested a 24-year-old man who allegedly murdered his 40-day-old daughter Sivaganga by drowning her in

Karamana River

. The police identified the accused as Unnikrishnan, a resident of Pachalloor under Thiruvallom police station limits. He is an electrician.


According to the police, the alleged crime took place on Thursday evening, hours after Sivaganga’s ‘noolukettu’ ceremony was held at the residence of Chinju, the child’s mother, at

Nedumangad

.

“The couple met through social media, fell in love and started living together a year ago. They were not legally married,” said SI

V Prathap Kumar

of Thiruvallom police station.

On Thursday, after the ‘noolukettu’, Unnikrishnan expressed his wish to show the baby to his mother and the couple set out to Thiruvallom. While Chinju and the baby travelled in an autorickshaw, Unnikrishnan accompanied them on his motorcycle. When they reached

Madhupalam

near Thiruvallom, which is around 3km away from his residence, he took the baby from Chinju and told her to wait there in the rickshaw as his mother wouldn’t allow her to enter his house.

“But, he went straight to Karamana River at Kadavummoola near Madathunada and allegedly threw the baby into the river,” said the SI.

Chinju waited at Madhupalam from 6pm to 9pm. After he failed to return on time, she grew suspicious and approached the local police station. The police decided to search the river at Kadavummoola after some residents told them that they saw Unnikrishnan there. The diving experts of fire and rescue services department found Sivaganga’s body from the river around 2.30am on Friday.

The sub-inspector added that the police were still not sure about the motivation for the crime. Chinju has told the police that Unnikrishnan was apparently not ready to have a baby. He sulked whenever she told him that he must be more responsible now that they have a baby, Chinju told the police.

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