The death of a three-year-old boy in Mayiladuthurai district late last month has turned out to be a case of murder. The Sembanarkoil police have arrested the child’s mother Kavipriya, 26, and Abhinesh, 31, with whom she was allegedly in a relationship, on charges of killing the child. 

The police said Kavipriya was married to Kanivannan, 30, of Pagasalai village in 2019 and the couple had two minor sons one aged five and another three years old. The victim was the three-year-old child Ilan. Sources said problems arose between the couple following the alleged extramarital relationship the woman had with Abhinesh. The woman subsequently took a house on rent and resided separately at Akkur with her sons. 

Abhinesh, sources said, had been frequenting the house of Kavipriya besides speaking to her over phone. On June 25, when the two were in the house, Abhinesh is alleged to have pushed the three-year-old child to the wall. In the impact, the child became unconscious. 

The two took the child to the Mayiladuthurai Government Hospital claiming that it became unconscious after slipping in the bathroom. The child was subsequently referred to the Thanjavur Government Medical College and Hospital where he died on June 29.

A case was booked under 194 of the BNSS by the Sembanarkoil police station on a complaint from the child’s father Kanivannan who raised suspicion over his son’s death. The child was buried after autopsy. The police examined the mobile phone details of Kavipriya and Abhinesh and the CCTV footage.

During detailed inquiries, Abhinesh is reported to have confessed to committing the crime following which the case was altered as murder leading to his arrest recently. The woman was arrested for being an accomplice in the crime, the sources said. Abhinesh was lodged in the Cuddalore Central Prison while Kavipriya was lodged in the Special Prison for Women in Tiruchi.