Kochi tragedy: ‘If I’d been home…,’ father recounts the day wife allegedly threw daughter into river

Kochi: The father of the three-year-old girl allegedly thrown into the Chalakudy River by her mother in Aluva, has made serious allegations against his wife, claiming she had previously attempted to harm the child. The child’s body was recovered on Tuesday morning. 

In an emotional interview with Mathrubhumi News, the father alleged that the mother had previously attempted to poison their daughter. “Her own family members told me she once tried to kill the child by mixing poison in ice cream,” he said.

He further claimed the mother had physically assaulted the child on multiple occasions. “One day, I noticed finger marks on her chest from being hit. There’s even a photo of it on my brother’s phone. They didn’t show it to me right away, fearing I might react strongly. Even the local ward member had to step in. A police complaint was filed,” he said.

According to him, the child had expressed fear about being with her mother. “She didn’t want to go with her because she had hit her. I had insisted on keeping both children with me for their safety. But things changed after about a week.”

The day of the incident

Recalling the events leading up to the tragedy, he said the mother appeared completely normal that morning. “She made tea for me and was behaving as usual. Our daughter didn’t want to go to the Anganwadi that day. I told her I couldn’t take her myself because I had an urgent appointment, and her mother said she would handle it.”

Later that morning, she called him around 11 a.m., claiming the pressure cooker’s washer was broken. “I told her I’d be late. When I returned around 3:30 p.m., she wasn’t home. I thought she’d gone out shopping.”

Concern grew after he spoke with the child’s teacher. “The teacher told me the mother had come to the Anganwadi around 3:15 p.m. asking for the child and had left by 3:30. I started calling everyone. No one had seen her. By evening, when she still hadn’t returned, I told them I would go to the police.”

He later found out that a complaint had already been registered with the Women’s Cell. “Her own family knew she was unwell, but when the police called to check, they said she was fine.”

Claims of mental health concerns

He also revealed that she had undergone counselling at a private hospital and was subjected to an intelligence assessment. According to him, she was heavily influenced by her mother and elder sister. “Her father and elder brother didn’t support her, but her mother and sister pushed her.”

He alleged that the morning phone call about the pressure cooker was a ruse to check whether he was coming home. “If I had been there, she wouldn’t have gone out. She called just to make sure. The washer wasn’t broken. That was part of her plan.”

Visibly shaken, the father said he has kept the truth from their young son. “He doesn’t know what happened. I just told him his sister is missing. How could he possibly bear the truth?”