Palakkad: Nivedya, the mother of the two siblings who were found dead at their home in Menonpara, has allegedly admitted to killing them. The children, Jennifer Juliet, 5, and her three-year-old brother Robin Christopher, were found dead in a water tub in the bathroom of their home on Tuesday morning. Nivedya was at home at the time, while her husband, John Kumar, was away at work.

DySP S Sasidharan said questioning revealed that she committed the murders because she felt the children would become an obstacle to her future life. Police said they suspect that Nivedya drowned the elder child, who was bathing, and then drowned the younger child, who was nearby. Police also said their examination of the events leading up to the deaths established that it was a murder.

“There was talk among local residents that Nivedya did not take proper care of her children. They told us that she admitted to the crime on Wednesday morning. We are still questioning her,” Kozhinjampara SHO told Onmanorama. The officer added that there was no indication of mental illness.

Kumar’s uncle Selvam said Nivedya admitted to killing the children when he questioned her privately.
“Nivedya admitted to the crime when I took her aside and asked her quietly. At first, she refused to say anything. Then she admitted that she killed the children,” Selvam told Onmanorama.

The woman allegedly told him that she killed the children because of rumours questioning their paternity. “She told me that if the children were dead, there would be no more questions. So she decided to murder them,” he said.

Following this, Selvam informed the police about the incident and asked them to take Nivedya into custody to prevent local residents from attacking her. John Bosca, who reported the incident to the police, said the children had not gone to school on Monday or Tuesday as they had a slight fever. John Kumar, who works with Bosca, reportedly asked his wife not to let the children play in the bathroom.

“The water tub was roughly around two feet high, two feet wide and three feet long. The children knew how to jump out of the tub easily. They had played in the tub on Sunday,” he said.

Bosca said Kumar called his wife on Tuesday morning and asked her not to let the children play in the bathroom because they were unwell. About half an hour later, Nivedya called Kumar’s brother and told him the children had been in an accident. Neighbours, including Bosca’s wife, who lived about 100 metres away, did not hear any screams at the time.

According to local residents, family members had raised concerns about Nivedya’s alleged neglect of the children. Nivedya had told them that she was collecting firewood when the incident occurred.

Kozhinjampara police initially suspected that the children had accidentally fallen into the water tub while playing. They were rushed to Palakkad Taluk Hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival. Police initially registered a case of unnatural death and began an investigation. Doubts arose during the inquiry, following which Nivedya was questioned.