Mystery behind newborn's death found near drain in Kittur PS limits solved

Belagavi: The mystery behind the death of a newborn girl child found near a drain in Ambadagatti village of Kittur Police Station limits on March 5 has been solved with the arrest of the child's mother and her partner.

Belagavi police, who initially registered a case under Section 94 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (concealment of birth by the secret disposal of a dead body), later reclassified it as murder following a post-mortem report that revealed a head fracture.

Superintendent of Police Dr. Bheemashankar S. Guled, told reporters that Kittur police led by PSI Praveen and CPI Shivanand took up the case as a challenge and successfully cracked it. The investigation revealed that Simran alias Muskan had been in a relationship with Mahabaleshwar for three years and became pregnant. On March 5, around 10.30 am, she went into labor and delivered the baby in the bathroom without anyone in her family knowing. In an attempt to silence the baby, she allegedly covered its face and placed it in a box, which likely caused the fatal head injury.

Further investigation uncovered that Mahabaleshwar was involved in disposing of the newborn. During a video call, he allegedly instructed Simran on how to handle the situation. Both have been arrested and booked for murder.

SP Guled described this as one of the most distressing cases in his service, emphasizing the difficulty of identifying the mother in such incidents. However, he commended the Kittur police for their efforts in ensuring justice for the newborn.

With the post-mortem confirming a head injury, the case has been formally converted to murder, and both accused have been remanded to judicial custody. Legal proceedings are underway.

Police said that Muskan managed to keep her pregnancy a secret, and her family members were unaware of it.