Unmarried couple strangles newborn to death in Kerala, held

The parents of the child were in a live-in relationship. They killed the child after birth and claimed that it had died during delivery.

Idukki: A couple was arrested for strangling their baby to death just hours after birth in Kerala's Idukki. Police said investigations were on.

The incident took place in Kambammet in Idukki district in Kerala. The accused parents, identified as Sadhuram and Malathi, had told the local people and the police that their child had died during delivery. The matter came to light after the postmortem report revealed that the death was due to strangulation.

Sadhuram and Malathi were living in Idukki in the guise of married couple, police said. The couple hailed from Indore in Madhya Pradesh and were working in the cardamom plantation in Kambammet in Idukki district. Police said neither the health workers nor the villagers knew about Malathi's pregnancy. It was only when she went to the hospital for delivery that people came to know that she had given birth to a child, police added.

Police said investigations were started after the postmortem report stated that the child was strangled to death. The couple and the neighbours were interrogated. A neighbour told police that the couple had said that their child was born motionless. After which, the parents were interrogated and it was revealed that they had killed their child, police said. Police said the couple told that they were in a live-in relationship.

Malathi is currently undergoing treatment in the hospital and is under observation of the police. She will be taken into custody soon, police added. "The couple has been arrested in connection with the child's death and further investigations are being conducted in this matter", police added.