Balaramapuram 2-year-old girl's death: Maternal uncle Harikumar arrested

Harikumar, the maternal uncle of the two-year-old Devendu, whose body was retrieved from a well near the house at Kottukalkonam ward in Balaramapuram, was arrested for the murder of the toddler.

Neyyattinkara DySP S Shaji said that Harikumar will be produced in court on Friday after a medical examination. He said the accused threw the sleeping child into the well as he bore a grudge against his sister. 

The child died by drowning, the autopsy has revealed. A police official associated with the probe said that there were no signs of injury, strangulation or abuse on her body. "The child drowned in the well. There were no bodily injuries as per details gathered from postmortem," the official said.

The body, brought home after the postmortem examination, was buried later in the day. 

Police questioned Sreejith (father of Devendu), Sreethu (mother), Ragini (mother of Sreethu) and Harikumar. The family members have given contradictory statements, which led to suspicion surrounding the death of the girl.

Devendu was first reported missing in the morning. Police arrived at the house, and the fire force was summoned later. The body was retrieved from the well in the morning.