A child of two-and-a-half years died after allegedly being physically assaulted by her father in Kerala’s Malappuram district on Sunday, March 25. The suspect was arrested by the Kalikavu police on Monday, March 26. According to the police, the doctor who conducted the postmortem stated that she was subjected to brutal physical assault leading to her death. 

The incident came to light when the accused took his daughter to the hospital on Sunday, March 25 when she became unconscious. He told the hospital authorities that she choked while eating.

According to reports, the child had already died before reaching the hospital. There were marks of assault on her face, including injuries on her head, chest. Her ribs were broken as well.

The relatives of the child’s mother lodged a complaint at Kalikavu police station against the accused. They alleged that he had issued threats to harm the child several times and also used to physically assault his wife. “He started to harass my sister two months after their marriage. A complaint was lodged at the police station at that time, but no further action was taken. This is not the first time he physically assaulted the child,” the wife’s sister told the media. Relatives also said that the wife was physically assaulted by the accused demanding her to withdraw the case.  

Kalikavu police told TNM that the wife’s grandmother had also filed a case in the police station against the accused for not taking care of her daughter and grandchild, but later resolved the matter privately.

The accused has been booked under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 75 (Punishment for cruelty to Child) of the Juvenile Justice Act.