Thrissur: In a shocking turn in the , a neighbour of the accused, Anisha, has come forward alleging that she had earlier alerted the police about suspicious activities involving her neighbour.
She criticised the police for not taking her warning seriously at the time, suggesting that timely action could have potentially prevented the second infant’s death.
The case pertains to the suspected infanticide and concealment of evidence involving a couple in Puthukkad, after a man showed up at the Puthukkad police station in Thrissur early on Sunday morning with a bag containing skeletal remains of two infants.
Girija, who lives close to Anisha’s residence, told police officials that she saw Anisha digging a pit near her house in 2021 and dropping something into it from a bucket.
Around the same time, Girija filed a complaint against Anisha. However, Anisha filed a complaint on her own against Girija, accusing her of defaming her by spreading false information. Later, the police summoned Girija and warned her against interfering in the matter or making such statements, reportedly asking her to avoid raising doubts about her neighbour.
Girija told police that she had seen Anisha digging behind a chicken coop at the back of her house, though she couldn’t confirm whether what was buried was the body of an infant. At that time, there were rumours circulating in the neighbourhood about Anisha’s pregnancy and her alleged relationship with Bhavin.
Later, after realising that suspicions still persisted in the community, Anisha reportedly exhumed the remains of the first baby eight months after the incident and handed over the bones to Bhavin, who allegedly buried them at his residence.
Many now allege that if proper action had been taken when Girija’s complaint was filed in 2021, the second infant’s death might have been prevented. Police are facing criticism for not conducting a thorough investigation at the time.
Police officers from the Puthukkad station have now recorded Girija’s statement. Given the time that has passed since the incident, gathering evidence remains a challenge. However, police have begun investigating the area where the body is suspected to have been buried, with eyewitness accounts playing a crucial role in the case.
The couple, Bhavin and Aneesh, had met through social media in 2020 and began a relationship soon after. They reportedly had two children, one born in 2021 and the other in 2023. Police suspect the woman was involved in the death of one of the infants, while the cause of death of the second child is still under investigation.