Court relieves couple booked for trying to kill newborn, says case fabricatedThodupuzha: A court here has acquitted a couple from charges of attempting to kill their newborn baby on the grounds of religious superstition.
The couple – Shinoj and his wife Sherly, hailing from Maniyarankudy – were remanded to custody for 90 days after a case was registered against them for allegedly trying to kill their 7-day-old baby by thrashing it on the floor in the belief that it was born with an ominous star sign.
Shinoj and Sherly were released on Saturday after a court under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) here found that the couple were being framed in the case.
The Idukki police had filed the case against the couple in December, 2012. However, the court was convinced that the parents had not hurt the baby and that the case was fabricated by Shinoj's brother-in-law, Manoj, who was also a witness in the case.
The court found that Manoj had once misbehaved with Sherley and fabricated the case in order to stop the couple from taking action against him.
The Childline activists had taken care of the baby after the parents were jailed. The incident had pained the couple so deeply that they had even attempted suicide.
