The shocking incident of a newborn baby's body found abandoned in the Panampilly Nagar area of Kerala's Kochi took a turn after the police identified the accused -- the mother of the infant. According to the police, the body was wrapped in a cover and was thrown from an apartment located on Vidyanagar Road in the city by the mother -- a rape survivor. While the woman's arrest was recorded, the police's job remains long from over. Here are 10 developments about the crime that you need to know.
1. The young woman became pregnant after she was sexually assaulted by a man who has been reportedly identified by the police. His moves are being watched by the investigation team, Manorama Online said in a report.
2. A resident of the area found the "package" on his way back from dropping off his wards at school. He had to make way for a vehicle that was coming out of a nearby apartment complex. This resulted in him noticing the unusual package lying on the road. Soon, the police were alerted.
3. After talking to joggers and residents, the police were able to confirm that the infant was not thrown onto the road in the early hours. People who regular the road were able to confirm that nothing of that sort was found earlier the day. This helped the cops to establish that the infant was thrown to the road only around 8:00 am in the morning.
4. When CCTV visuals in the area were checked, the police team found something falling onto the road through shrubs on the side of the road. These plants originated from an apartment nearby. If something was to be thrown from these apartments onto the road, it would fall through the shrubs exactly like in the visuals, they learnt.
5. The police team soon searched all apartments in the seven-storey building that opened towards the said road. Although no clues were found initially, blood stains were eventually spotted on the bathroom floor of one of these flats.
6. The baby was put in a courier pack belonging to the e-commerce platform Amazon. Although the barcode printed on it was damaged, the officials were able to scan it. This double-confirmed the flat number and other address details of the mother's residence.
7. Around 12:50 pm, City Police Commissioner S Shyamsundar told media that the 23-year-old woman, the mother of the newborn, confessed to having thrown the baby away herself. She acted in "fear, shock and panic" of having given birth, he said.
8. The baby was born around 5:00 am on Friday and was thrown out of the flat at aorund 8:15 am.
9. The parents of the mother had no role in the crime, Manorama Online quoted the police as saying. They got a clear picture of the incident when the police made the family sit together as part of the interrogation, the report added.
10. It is not clear if the baby was thrown onto the road after being killed or died because of the fall.
