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Kottayam : Police have arrested the mother of an eight-month-old girl whose body was found in a marsh at Valanjavattam in Pulikkeezh in Aug 2023, saying the case has been established as murder. The body was found around 6pm on Aug 12. A special investigation team led by Thiruvalla DSP P R Santhosh, formed at the directive of Pathanamthitta district police chief R Anand, traced and arrested Manju (38) of Chemmanampathi Colony, Palakkad. Police said Manju left home in 2023 after a quarrel with her husband.
She is the third accused. At Kalarkode in Alappuzha, a man named Sivan allegedly offered to look after her and the child, and they began living on a shop veranda in Changanassery. Sivan allegedly killed the baby by pressing her neck after she cried at night. Police are searching for Sivan and Shakthi, the first and second accused.
Manju was produced in court and remanded on Tuesday.
Manju allegedly confessed during questioning there, police said. The case came to light after Manju returned to her colony in Palakkad without the child. A tribal promoter who grew suspicious informed Meenakshipuram police. The special team took her into custody and questioned her at Pulikkeezh.