KOCHI: Preliminary assessment of police that the mother’s friend, a dancer, had nothing to do with the incident in which the newborn baby was suffocated to death and thrown from the fifth floor of the apartment in Panambilly Nagar to the road. He knew that the 23-year-old was pregnant. The man, a native of Thrissur, gave a statement to the police over the phone that they had not spoken to each other for more than two months. The police confirmed this by checking the woman’s phone. The woman has not filed a complaint against him. The decision is to file a case of abuse if a complaint is reported during interrogation in custody.

The police say that the man’s love was not sincere. He abandoned her when he came to know that she was pregnant. The woman was in severe mental stress and was afraid to tell her parents. Abortion was not attempted as it was too late to recognize that she was pregnant. The woman revealed to the police that she decided to get rid of the baby forever after giving birth.

The woman learned how to give birth through the Internet. She wore oversized clothes to hide her pregnancy. Internet knowledge helped the woman to give birth without assistance and cut the umbilical cord. The body of the newborn baby was found on the road in front of the flat, wrapped in a plastic cover belonging to an online shopping company, around 8 am on Friday.

The court remanded the woman till 18. The magistrate took action after reaching the Ernakulam General Hospital where she was undergoing treatment. The woman will be transferred to jail when her health condition improves. The police will soon submit an application to get the accused in custody.