A day after receiving a complaint regarding a suspected female infanticide in Sedapatti, Madurai Rural District Police on Wednesday exhumed the body of an infant who was buried by her parents near their house.
A team, led by Additional Superintendent of Police S. Chandramouli, inspected the spot.
The body was exhumed after the infant’s grandmother, Karupayee, identified the spot where it was buried.
Revenue officials were present during the exhumation, and forensic experts from the Government Rajaji Hospital conducted a post-mortem on the spot. Viscera samples were collected for chemical analysis.
Superintendent of Police V. Baskaran said an external injury was found on the head of the week-old child. However, he said only the post-mortem report could reveal the cause of death.
Kaushalya, of Sedapatti, had delivered her third female child at the Primary Health Centre in Sedapatti on December 21.
When her neighbours noticed that the baby was missing, they alerted the police.
During a preliminary inquiry, the parents claimed that the baby had died, and they had buried the body near their house.
Sedapatti police registered a case under Section 318 of the IPC. The parents are absconding.