Andhra: Toddler reported missing found dead in canal, mother arrested for murder

A one-and-a-half-year-old infant, who went missing from her house in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore during the wee hours of Monday, April 3, was found dead in a canal nearby on Wednesday. The police have arrested the child’s mother, Anusha, for the alleged murder. She has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the charges of murder and tampering with evidence.

Circle Inspector Ramulu Naik told TNM that Anusha, a second-year Master of Computer Applications (MCA) student at a college in the town, had a fight with her mother who was looking after the children while she was studying. “Anusha’s mother left the house in a fit of anger, leaving Anusha worried if she will be able to complete her studies. She threw the baby into the canal that night,” he said.

Reports say Anusha had initially claimed that she had slept on the bed with her elder daughter after putting the infant, Laxmi Niharika, to sleep in a cradle. She added that she had woken up once around 1.30 am to open the doors as the power went out, and that when she looked at the cradle the next morning, her daughter was no longer in there. Two dolls had been placed in the cradle instead, she said. She claimed to have immediately alerted her family and husband, who filed a missing complaint at the Balaji Nagar Police. The baby was found abandoned in the Sarvepalli canal early on Wednesday morning.

It is learnt that Anusha (22) and her husband Manikanta (26) began residing in Nellore town after getting married in 2018. Manikanta, a resident of the village of Ravuru, manages a hotel there. Anusha, her mother, and her two daughters resided together in the Gurralamadugu neighbourhood of Nellore town.