Infant's mysterious death: Kannur Police question parents; intensify probe

Kannur: Police have intensified probe into the mysterious death of a four-month-old infant at Pappinissery here. The deceased is the daughter of a Tamil Nadu couple Muthu and Akkallu. Talking to the media, Station House Officer B Karthik said that post-mortem report of the child is awaited to confirm the cause of death. The child's body was shifted to Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyaram for post-mortem.

The official said that a Special Investigation Team led was constituted to probe the case. Dog squad and forensic team will visit the crime scene to gather evidence.

Valapattanam police have recorded the statement of the baby’s parents. As per the statement, a 12-year-old girl who is the daughter of Muthu’s brother found the baby missing on the bed after returning from washroom on Monday night. This girl and her sibling occupied the rented house with Muthu, his wife and their newborn child. 

Manorama News reported that the girl had claimed that the baby was on the bed next to the mother when she woke up and went to the washroom. However, upon returning to the room, she found the infant missing. She then alerted the child's parents, after which the family, along with some migrant workers, began searching for the baby. Tragically, they found the infant dead in a well within the compound of their rented quarters.

One of the migrant workers told Manorama News that water has not entered into the baby’s stomach. Hence, it is suspected that the child was murdered and dumped into the well. 

SHO Karthik told media that discrepancies in the statements of the family members will be reviewed after obtaning the autopsy report. He added that statements of more people will be recorded in the case.