Chennai: Mother arrested for special kid's death after 11 months

CHENNAI: About 11 months after the death of a three-year-old boy, Chennai police arrested his mother in Korukkupet on Wednesday for allegedly murdering the child as he was intellectually disabled.

Police said the parents of the child are 34-year-old Sakthivel and his wife 33-year-old Nadiya, residents of Ilaya Street in Korukkupet. 

Several years ago Nadiya had a stillborn child. Almost four years ago, she gave birth to a son, Ishanth, who was reportedly intellectually disabled and had a nervous disorder.

On January 25, Nadiya admitted her son for treatment at Stanley Government Hospital claiming that Ishanth had tripped and fallen while playing. Three days later, on January 28, Ishanth succumbed to his injuries. 

Since the doctors raised no suspicions at the time, the family was allowed to take Ishanth's body. However, after receiving the post-mortem report, the police said they learnt that the boy had not yet started to walk due to weak muscles, making it impossible for him to have sustained an injury while playing.

The report was left idle till this month before the police registered a case and on Wednesday nabbed Nadiya on charges of murder. 

Police claimed that she had confessed to having beaten Ishanth as she was unhappy about having given birth to a disabled child. She was arrested and remanded in judicial custody.