Kerala infant drowning case: Child’s father held, grandmother in custody

Kochi: The Kerala Police on Saturday arrested the father and took into custody the grandmother of the infant, who died a few days ago after the woman’s young lover allegedly confessed to having murdered the child.

Poonthura police took into custody the grandmother, Sipsy, from the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram and handed her over to the Ernakulam police.

Meanwhile, police said they have arrested the father, Sajeev Shaji. The duo has been charged under various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Police said the father was arrested under section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act which deals with the punishment for cruelty to a child. The section deals with punishment to whoever, having the actual charge of, or control over, a child, assaults, abandons, abuses, exposes or willfully neglects the child, or causes or procures the child to be assaulted, abandoned, abused, exposed, or neglected in a manner likely to cause such child unnecessary mental or physical suffering.

On Wednesday, police had arrested John Binoy D’Cruz (27), Sipsy’s lover, in connection with the incident.

The woman had gone to a hotel with her two grandchildren — the deceased infant girl and her five-year-old brother — and her lover, police had said.

On the day of the incident, the grandmother and D’Cruz had claimed the infant choked while having milk.

The officials had said D’Cruz was allowed to leave after his initial questioning and on reaching his home at Palluruthy here, he had confessed to his mother about what he had done.

Subsequently, the mother informed the Palluruthy police station, and officers from there arrested the accused.

During questioning, D’Cruz admitted that he forcibly drowned the baby.

The infant’s father was undergoing treatment at some hospital, his wife was abroad for work for three months, police had said and added that as a result the two children were left with their paternal grandmother.

Meanwhile, the child’s mother, who returned to India on being informed that the infant was not well, had told the media that she came to know of her baby girl’s death only after arriving here.

She had also said that her mother-in-law was involved in various criminal cases which she learned only after the wedding — which was a love marriage.

The police came to know of the incident after the hospital where the baby was taken, informed it.

The baby died before reaching the hospital, police said.