Body of female infant exhumed a day after her death and burial

Body of female infant exhumed a day after her death and burial

The body of a nine-day-old female infant was exhumed by the authorities on Wednesday, a day after her suspicious death and stealthy burial by her family in a village in Shoolagiri.

The death of the infant was brought to the notice of the Village Health Nurse of Periya Sappadi village in the Kamandotti panchayat on Tuesday.

According to an official source, a 21-year-old woman of the village gave birth to the infant at the Hosur government hospital on October 15.

The woman and her husband are parents to a four-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl. The infant was buried at 5 a.m. Tuesday. A neighbour alerted the Village Health Nurse, who had called up the family. “The family merely said the body turned cold; hence, they buried the child. No effort was made to reach the Village Health Nurse or take the baby to hospital,” Kamandotti Medical Officer M. Ayothi said. The Village Health Nurse alerted her supervisors and a complaint was filed with the Shoolagiri police. On Wednesday, health officials and the police exhumed the body buried in the vicinity of the maternal home of the woman where she was staying. Shoolagiri Tahsildar Shakthivel was present during the exhumation.

“The body has been sent to the Krishnagiri government medical college hospital for autopsy. Only the autopsy report will reveal the cause of death,” Dr. Ayothi said. “We give counselling to all antenatal mothers, especially during their third pregnancy and when they already have girls,” the Village Health Nurse said.

The woman had undergone a tubectomy after the delivery 10 days ago. Her marital and maternal homes are in the same village. While the authorities await the autopsy report. The incident has revived concerns over female infanticide in a district with a historical dipping sex ratio.