Mother’s male friend taken into custody in Palakkad children’s murder case

Palakkad: Police in Kerala have taken a man into custody in connection with the murder of two young children allegedly by their mother in Palakkad district. Investigators suspect he may have helped her carry out the crime.

The police action followed clues gathered during evidence collection with the arrested woman, Nivedya. His arrest is expected to be formally recorded soon, according to reports.

Nivedya's children, Jennifer Juliet, five, and Robin Christopher, three, were found dead in a water tub in the bathroom of their rented house on September 29. Their father is John Kumar. The post-mortem examination initially indicated that the children had died by drowning.

However, suspicions about Nivedya's behaviour prompted further investigation, which led the police to conclude that the deaths were murders.

Nivedya allegedly confessed to the police that she killed the children because she wanted to pursue modelling and felt they were an obstacle to her ambitions.

She was taken into police custody for evidence collection after the authorities secured permission for her interrogation. On Wednesday morning, she was handed over to the police for two days of custody following a court order.

During evidence collection at the house where the children were killed, investigators reportedly found clues suggesting that Nivedya may have received assistance from another person. The police had also received information that she was in a relationship with another man, prompting them to focus their investigation on him.

Investigators are examining whether the man was directly involved in the murders, helped Nivedya in carrying them out, or instigated her to kill the children. His role is expected to become clearer following further questioning.