Alappuzha: A 33-year-old unwed mother thrashed to death her newborn baby boy immediately after delivery at home at Mavelikara near here on Wednesday. Police said Anitha, 33, of Kariyamthara, killed the baby soon after giving birth at home. Presently under post delivery treatment at Kayamkulam Taluk Hospital, she faces murder charges.
She confessed to the police that she picked up the baby in her hand after the delivery at 10 am and threw on the floor to get the baby killed. The incident came to light after the woman sought help from local people to take her to the hospital in the afternoon. Following this when the Kudumbasree workers reached the spot, they saw the baby lying dead on the floor.
The police says the woman tried to convince them that it was a natural death. But the postmortem held on Thursday at Alappuzha Medical College confirmed that it was a murder. The postmortem report has also pointed out that the baby was mature and stout, and had taken a breath and cried loud soon after delivery.
Later in a detailed quizzing, she admitted that she murdered the baby in an attempt to hide the baby from others. Police also said that the unwed woman, who is already a mother of two, had sought treatment for mental illness.
"However, during the questioning, she had shown no sign of mental illness. And the investigation will be expanded to the person who exploited her," sub-inspector V. M. Sreekumar said. Meanwhile, the local people say the woman, who has no relatives in the area, was a habitual offender, and she had been accommodated in the Mahila Madiram in Alappuzha for two years. But, later she ran away and was wandering with her children.
