51 wounds, fractures, burns: Chilling torture of Kerala baby by mother’s partner

K Biju Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police in Nedumangad, said, “Ashkar saw the baby as an obstacle to his life with Akhila. So he wanted to annihilate the boy. He was subjected to torture over a period of time. We are also probing other angles in the case. The crime was committed with the connivance of the boy’s mother. We are also probing into other allegations against Ashkar. The probe is at a preliminary stage,’’ said the police officer.

According to police, Ashkar said during questioning that Akhila, a dancer, had travelled to Tamil Nadu for a programme on Friday and left her son with him. The baby started crying while Ashkar was trying to feed him. This infuriated Ashkar, and he banged the toddler’s head against a wall. The postmortem report showed that the baby suffered internal bleeding in his head. The autopsy also revealed fractured ribs and arms. Ashkar claimed that the arms had fractured due to an accidental fall.

Police said the investigation has also revealed that the couple tried to tamper with evidence at their rented home in Karikkuzhy at Thiruvananthapuram. Police have found that the toddler’s bloodstained clothes were burned in the backyard.

Police have found that Ashkar and Akhila started living together about five months ago after Akhila’s husband, Akhil, died by suicide before the child’s birth.

Ashkar, on the other hand, married another woman, Amina, in 2021. Amina’s family alleged that he tortured her, and she was bedridden. He then abandoned her and moved in with Akhila. Police said Ashkar’s wife, Amina, had not filed a police complaint, but added that they would look into this.

Akhila’s mother, S Reena, has said she was aware of the torture of her grandson. “Two months back, I had approached the police. The baby’s hands were then plastered. Akhila and Ashkar told me that he fell from the cycle,” she told the media.