Kerala man kills toddler daughter, HC takes note

A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly beating his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to death in Malappuram district of Kerala.

A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly beating his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter to death in Malappuram district of Kerala, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu proceedings to formulate a protocol for police to intervene in such cases before things get dire, police said on Tuesday.

Police suspect that the accused assaulted his daughter due to an ongoing dispute with his wife, who was not present at the time of the incident. (Getty Images)

According to the police, the incident was reported from Udirampoyil area of Malappuram district on the afternoon of March 24, when accused Mohammed Fayiz brought his daughter Nasrin to a hospital in Wandoor for treatment, claiming that she had choked on her food.

“According to the doctors who conducted the autopsy, the cause of the child’s death was clotting inside the brain. Her ribs have also been found to be broken, indicating severe assault,” Kalikavu station house officer Sasidharan Pillai told HT over the phone.

“There were also several external injuries on the child’s body indicating that she was assaulted for at least a week,” the officer said, adding that the doctors subsequently informed the police.

“The accused, Mohammed Fayiz, was arrested last night (Monday) and we have produced him in court today. He has been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act,” Pillai said

Police suspect that the accused assaulted his daughter due to an ongoing dispute with his wife, who was not present at the time of the incident. “They were having marital disputes which could have led Fayiz to commit the crimes on his daughter. In the past, his wife had filed a police complaint stating that he was not providing for her and the family. The complaint was later withdrawn after they reached a settlement amicably,” an officer familiar with the matter said.

A relative of the accused, who stayed in the neighbourhood, accused Fayiz of regularly beating his daughter.

“He would beat her regularly and we could hear her cries. When we questioned his actions, he would ask us not to interfere. He and his family would never take the child out of the house for us to see her condition,” he told reporters, requesting anonymity.

On Tuesday, the Kerala high court initiated suo motu proceedings in the case, saying that the fact that such an incident occurred in Kerala was shocking.

“The factum of such an event happening in our state shocks our conscience and certainly must be an eye-opener,” the Justice Devan Ramachandran said.

“When children are involved and they are the victims of any such violence I am certain that this court is enjoined to act under the parents patriae jurisdiction not withstanding whether the perpetrator is the father or any other near relative. This court cannot ignore the cries of the young child who must have suffered immeasurably when being attacked particularly if the news reporting is accurate that he has suffered extensive damage to his ribs and to his internal organs. This pains this court indescribably. I am therefore of the firm view that there should be some protocol so that the police is in a position to intervene when any such incident is brought to light. For this purpose, I propose a suo motu action and I propose that the respondents be the State Police Chief, the Superintendent of Police Malappuram and the concerned Station House Officer,”news portal Bar and Bench quoted the judge as saying.

The Registry was consequently directed to obtain formal orders from the Chief Justice and list the matter as a suo motu writ petition next week.