Kannur woman kills baby to be with lover, pins blame on husband

Kannur woman kills baby to be with lover, pins blame on husband
Image for representation only. File

Kannur: A 22-year-old woman was arrested on charges of killing her one-and-a-half-year-old son by hurling the baby onto a sea wall in Kerala’s Kannur district.

Sharanya, a native of Thayyil in Kannur, was arrested on Tuesday night after the police grilled her for two days.

Her husband Pranav was also questioned, though it turned out that he had no role in the crime.

The toddler, Viyan, had gone to sleep with his parents on Sunday night.

His body was found near the sea wall on Monday morning. An injury to the head after hitting a hard surface was the cause of death, as per the post-mortem report.

Sharanya’s arrest was recorded after forensic examination proved the presence of salinity on her clothes.

The investigation revealed that her desire to be with her lover prompted Sharanya to kill her baby.

The police got clues about her lover from her phone call list. They reportedly got acquainted on Facebook. Cops are yet to get any leads on his involvement in the murder.

Sharanya had been living with her parents after a fallout with her husband Pranav.

However, she called Pranav to her house and made him stay at her place on Sunday.

The murder was committed between 3:30am and 4:30am, the next day, police said.

She hurled the baby on to rocks, twice

During the wee hours of Monday, Sharanya left for the beach with the baby. She switched on her mobile phone torch as she headed towards the nearby beach.

After confirming that no one was around, Sharanya allegedly threw the baby on to the rocks of the sea wall.

As the child wailed, Sharanya got down and covered his face before throwing the baby again on to the rocks. She left only after ensuring the baby's death.

Pre-meditated murder

Police said Sharanya clearly plotted the murder. Prompting her husband to stay over at her place was a ploy to implicate him in the case.

Sharanya blamed her husband during police interrogation for two days. She reiterated that her husband, who did not look after her or the baby, was behind the murder.

Bundle of lies

Sharanya fabricated an entire tale on the events of Sunday night and Monday morning to make her husband appear guilty.

Sharanya initially told the police that Pranav reached home on Saturday after three months and insisted on staying over. She then asked him to come over on Sunday as her father would be out fishing.

Sharanya said all three went to sleep in the same room on Sunday. When the child cried in the wee hours, she gave water and put the baby to sleep next to the husband. She also told the police that she then slept in the hall. Sharanya said she realised that the baby was missing only when her mother woke up at 6:30 am the next day.

Sharanya retracts her statements

But Sharanya was cornered after the phone call details of the lover and forensic reports were out.

After the police presented evidence, contradicting her initial statements, Sharanya changed her version of the events and divulged the details.

Sharanya confessed to the police that she plotted the murder after it was confirmed that her husband would stay over.

During the wee hours of Monday, she left with the room with her baby. When her husband questioned this, she said she was going to sleep in the hall as it was very hot in the room. After sitting for a while in the hall, Sharanya left the house through the back door.

After committing the murder, she returned to the house through the back door. She slept off after sitting in the hall for a while.

Lover did not ask Sharanya to kill baby’

Even when Sharanya was being interrogated, her lover kept calling on to her phone. On day one of questioning, there were 17 missed calls from him.

The police got a clear picture of their relationship, while checking the chat history on her phone.

Sharanya began an affair with her lover, who was also a friend of her husband, about a year ago. Pranav had gone to the Gulf for a year when Sharanya was pregnant.

The couple had a strained relationship after his return. Pranav's friend, a native of Vaaram in the district, was aware of these developments. The police suspect he became friendly with Sharanya on Facebook exploiting the situation. They then started chatting and making phone calls.

The police have also received information that the lover had another girlfriend and was planning to marry her.

The chat history also revealed that the lover had made no promise of marriage to Sharanya. Neither had he asked Sharanya to eliminate the child, the police said.

Sharanya, who desperately wanted to be with her lover, committed the murder thinking that the kid was an obstacle to her dream life.

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