Nedumangad child murder: Chargesheet filed against mother, her partner

Nedumangad: Police have filed a chargesheet in the case involving the alleged brutal assault and murder of one-and-a-half-year-old Arshith. The accused are the child’s mother, Akhila Chandran, and her live-in partner, A Ashkar.

Deputy Superintendent of Police T Binukumar submitted the 210-page chargesheet before the Nedumangad SC/ST Court on the 83rd day after the accused were arrested.

The charges include murder, destruction of evidence, assault and offences under the Juvenile Justice Act. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act has also been invoked against the first accused, Ashkar. Since the child’s late father S Akhil and his mother and second accused, Akhila Chandran, belonged to a Scheduled Caste community, this provision was added, following which the investigation was taken over by the Nedumangad DySP.

According to the chargesheet, the child was brutally assaulted and killed. The 96 injuries found on the body of the one-and-a-half-year-old were inflicted at different times. The child was allegedly hit against a wall and had his legs burned with a cigarette lighter. The chargesheet states that internal bleeding in the child’s head caused by the assault led to his death.