Three-year-old murdered in Kovai, mother held, partner absconding

Locals found the body of a child with injuries on her head in a bush near Saravanampatti around 6am on Monday. On receiving information, a police team led by Deputy Commissioner Balaji Saravanan rushed to the spot and retrieved the body. A few villagers told police that they had seen a woman searching for her missing child earlier.

Acting on their information, the cops identified the woman as Roobini (30), a resident of Velliangadu in Mettupalayam. They showed her the photograph of the deceased child. After the woman confirmed that it was her daughter Devi Sri, police took her to the spot.

Upon being interrogated, she said that her partner, identified as Tamil (36), took Devi Sri to his grandmother’s house, but was unreachable thereafter. Roobini's husband Balraj, a daily wager, had left her over domestic issues.

On suspicion, police grilled Roobini further, following which she reportedly spilled the beans. “Roobini was in a relationship with Tamil. Since the couple felt that the child was a disturbance to them continuing their affair, they decided to kill her. As planned, they took the child to an isolated place and fed her with poison-laced biscuit. The child died shortly after,” sources said.

“With an intention to clear any suspicion, Roobini asked Tamil to dump the body somewhere. Subsequently, he dumped the body in Karattumedu and went into hiding,” they said.

The police sent Devi Sri’s body for post-mortem at the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). Three special teams have been formed to nab the absconding accused. Further investigations are under way in connection with the case.