Body of missing girl found in river; mother in police custody

Kochi, May 20 (PTI) A three-year-old girl, who went missing after being picked up by her mother from an anganwadi in Mattakuzhy here, was found dead in a river here in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

The body of the girl, Kalyani, was found in a river during an hours-long search carried out by a scuba team after her family lodged a complaint with the police on Monday night.

Police took the girl's mother, Sandhya, into custody on the previous night in connection with the incident.

A police officer said it was suspected that the mother threw the child away into the river.

He said the woman picked the child up from the anganwadi on Monday evening.

CCTV visuals, retrieved by the police, confirmed that the woman reached the Moozhikulam area near Aluva in the night.

As the girl went missing and the woman gave contradictory statements about the child, the family approached the police with a complaint.

"During the interrogation, she gave contradictory statements about the location where she abandoned the child. At one point, the woman said she threw the child away into the river from the Moozhikulam bridge," the officer said.

A subsequent search in the areas by the police and in the river by the scuba divers finally resulted in the finding of the motionless body of the child in the wee hours on Tuesday, he added.

"The woman is said to be suffering from some psychological issues. But it is yet to be confirmed scientifically," he said.

An interrogation of the mother is going on, and her arrest is yet to be recorded, the officer added. PTI LGK KH