The Tamil Nadu police on Wednesday arrested a 35-year-old mother and her second husband for allegedly murdering her five-year-old daughter in Kattuputhur near Trichy on Monday, officers familiar with the matter said.
According to an initial investigation, the child was beaten to death with a coconut leaf stalk and a PVC pipe, they said.
While the mother – Nithya Kamalam – had initially claimed to hospital authorities that her daughter was beaten for not obeying and watching too much TV, an FIR filed by the police recorded the reason as a lack of interest in sports and physical exercise. Her second husband Muthupandian is a physical education teacher in the same school where she teaches. A senior officer probing the case said Nithya and Muthupandian were arrested under IPC section 302 for murder and the case is being investigated further as both the accused had issued contradicting statements.
“It was Muthupandian who had beaten the girl. Initially, their claim was that the mother had beaten the girl with a belt. But later, he admitted that he had punished her for showing no interest in sports training that he had enrolled her into. On Monday evening, when the girl refused to do physical exercises and preferred to watch TV, he started beating her. ” the officer said.
