Woman arrested in connection with death of her daughter

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 27 (PTI) A 29-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday in connection with the death of her two-year-old daughter at Balaramapuram here, police said.

The accused has been identified as Sreethu, a resident of Kottukalkonam near Anthiyur in Balaramapuram.

The incident occurred on January 30 this year, when the child's body was discovered in a well near the family’s house.

Soon after, police arrested the child’s uncle, Harikumar (25), who confessed to throwing her into the well due to enmity towards Sreethu.

However, forensic examination of the mobile phones of both Sreethu and Harikumar later suggested her involvement in the crime, police said.

She was taken into custody from Palakkad and brought to the Balaramapuram police station.

"We have scientific evidence against her. She was aware of the murder. Her custodial interrogation is required to gather more details," a police officer said.

The police officer said that a DNA test has confirmed that Sreethu’s husband, Sreejith, was not the girl's father.

Harikumar underwent a polygraph test, which corroborated the police's suspicion about Sreethu’s involvement in the case.

"A detailed interrogation is required to clarify the motive behind the murder," the police officer said.

It was Sreethu who first alerted her mother that their daughter, who had been sleeping with them, was missing on January 30. Around the same time, Harikumar was sleeping in the next room.

Following a search, the girl's body was found in a well in their rented house.

Though Harikumar initially confessed to the murder, police said they had suspected Sreethu’s role from the beginning.

Police said that Sreethu had tried to mislead the probe by alleging that an astrologer was behind the murder. However, police dismissed her claim after investigating the matter.

Police had moved to subject her to a lie-detection test, but she refused, officials added.

Earlier, Sreethu was arrested for swindling Rs 10 lakh from a person by promising a job in the Devaswom Board. She was recently released on bail.

Sreethu and Sreejith were living separately due to marital discord. PTI TBA TBA KH