Days after the Kollam police arrested a 22-year-old woman for allegedly abandoning her newborn leading to the baby’s death, two women, both relatives of the mother, who were issued summons by the police, went missing. A day later, on June 25, the bodies of the missing women, identified as 23-year-old Arya and 19-year-old Sruthi, were discovered from Ithikkara river in Kollam district. It was on January 5, 2021, that a one-day old baby was discovered amid a heap of dry leaves near a house at Nadakkal near Kalluvathukkal in Kollam district. Though the infant was rescued by the police after the family that lived in the house discovered him, the baby passed away hours after being admitted to the Paripally Medical College in Kollam and later at the SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
The baby was discovered with the umbilical cord intact. The investigation by Paripally police officials led to the arrest of the baby’s mother, who was found to be 22-year-old Reshma, who lived in the region. The police told TNM that Reshma’s arrest was recorded on June 22, after DNA test results revealed that the baby was hers.
The police had summoned two women, 23-year-old Arya, wife of Reshma’s brother-in-law, and 19-year-old Sruthi, her husband's niece, in connection to the case. “Reshma had given a statement that both the women were aware about the baby and the whole incident. As per procedure, we had asked the women to appear for interrogation on Thursday, but they went missing,” said an official of Parippally police station.
The police focussed the search for the missing women near the Ithikkara river after CCTV visuals from the region showed both the women walking through a road which was near the river. By Friday afternoon, Arya’s body was recovered from the river with the help of fire and rescue officials, and Sruthi's body was found a few hours later.
Speaking to Asianet News, a relative stated that the arrested woman had been allegedly using the SIM card of one of the deceased women. He also added that one of the women had raised concerns about the police summoning her. He said that he had consoled her, and told her that the police will let her off after taking a statement.
Meanwhile, police officials told TNM that Reshma had allegedly abandoned the child as she did not wish to live with her husband.
Watch the deceased women's relative talking to Asianet News: