Alappuzha: All three accused in the case of a newborn baby found buried in a vacant plot in Thakazhi have been remanded to police custody. Results of the forensic report, expected to confirm whether the child was alive at the time of birth or not, are still awaited, Poochackal police officials said.
“The three accused in the case have been remanded. Their interrogation will follow. The forensic report details are awaited. At this time, we do not have a time frame on when we will get it,” said a police official.
The police had sought the custody of the three accused – mother Donna (22), boyfriend Thomas Joseph (24) and another friend Asok Joseph (30). This was after discrepancies arose between the statements given by Donna and Thomas Joseph.
While Donna maintains that the baby was alive while handing it over to Thomas, he says otherwise. The doctor who treated Donna deposed to the police that she had told him the baby was alive at the time of birth.
To bring clarity into the conflicting nature of the statements, the police need to question the accused together. This was not possible until now as Donna was undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Police have registered a case under Sections 91 (Act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth), 93 (Exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years of age, by parent or person having care of it) and 94 (Concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the police, the woman gave birth to the child on August 7. The incident came to light on August 10, when the woman reached a private hospital in Kochi seeking treatment. Police said the woman had told the hospital authorities that her child was abandoned at an 'Ammathottil' centre in Alappuzha. Ammathottil is an initiative of the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW), which provides cradle centres across the state where children can be left instead of abandoning them on the wayside or in other insecure places.
"The hospital authorities informed us and we found that her statement was contradictory. Later, we took her friends into custody," police had said.
