Woman accused of pushing her child out of bus, let off later

KOCHI: A 29-year-old woman hailing from Muvattupuzha on Saturday landed in trouble after her six-year-old son met with an accident. The incident, which took place at Mazhuvannur near Kolenchery on the Muvattupuzha-Ernakulam Road, turned nasty when the local people accused the woman of shoving the child, which resulted in him falling from the bus.

Following a tip-off, a police team rushed to the spot and took the woman into custody. However, after detailed questioning the police said that the woman was being unfairly accused of involvement and that the entire incident was the result of a deep misunderstanding on the part of the local people. Officers also pointed out there were no witnesses to the alleged incident. The woman was later let off.

“The woman along with her children live on rent at Thattamugal near Muzhuvannur, barely 200 m from the bus stop. It is true that the family is not in a position to raise the kids. The woman is twice married. However, she did not push the child. The boy caught hold of her churidar to board the bus and he slipped and fell down accidentally. He did not fall underneath the bus,” said an officer with Kunnathunad police station.

The dramatic events unfolded when the woman boarded a KSRTC bus with her younger child by around 11 am. As soon as the bus arrived, her six-year-old son, who was at home, came looking for her. He tried to board the same bus and fell down. On seeing this, the driver of a jeep coming from the opposite direction alerted the driver of the KSRTC bus.

Meanwhile, the woman got out of the bus and scolded the boy and the jeep driver. Subsequently, a few local residents alleged that the woman tried to kill the boy by pushing him off the bus. Three of her children, who were staying with their mother, were later shifted to a children’s home nearby on the directions of Child Welfare Committee (CWC), said police.