THRISSUR, KERALA: A couple was arrested in Kerala for abandoning their five-day old baby, allegedly out of fear that they would be shamed socially for having a fourth child. The man and his wife were caught on CCTV outside a church in Kochi, said the police.
In the CCTV footage, Bitto (32) and his wife Prabitha (28), from Thrissur, were seen leaving the baby at St George Forane Church in Edappally on Saturday evening, the police said. The father is seen kissing the baby on its forehead before placing it on the church floor.
The security staff of the church found the baby around 8.30 pm on Saturday and immediately alerted the police.
The police tracked down the couple, who have three other children, from Wadakkancherry area in Thrissur.
Police sources say during the preliminary probe, Bitto told the investigators that the locals ridiculed them as his wife was often pregnant. The woman had allegedly accepted the plan to abandon the baby before being discharged from the Government Medical College Hospital in Thrissur, where she had given birth.
A detailed investigation will be conducted now to reach a conclusion, said the police.
The couple has been charged for abandoning a child under 12 years and for cruelty under the Juvenile Justice Act.
The baby was admitted to a private hospital. Sources say the infant was was doing well.