Published Oct 20, 2026 | 5:57 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 20, 2026 | 5:57 PM
The couple’s two-year-old son, Rahul, died at their home in Thaimoottil, Valiyakulangara, on Saturday.
Synopsis: The Child Welfare Committee will take responsibility for the newborn son of a Karthikappally couple after their two-year-old son, Rahul, died with severe malnutrition and anaemia. Police have registered a case of unnatural death and are investigating the circumstances, including possible neglect and the family’s earlier interactions with child protection agencies.
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) will take responsibility for the newborn son of a couple in Karthikappally, Alappuzha, whose two-year-old son died of severe malnutrition, Keralam Women and Child Development Minister Bindu Krishna said on Tuesday, 20 October.
The newborn is the couple’s seventh child. The minister said the mother, Thara, would receive counselling on family planning and the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital (MCH) would coordinate further interventions. The government would also identify vulnerable children to prevent similar deaths, she said.
The couple’s two-year-old son, Rahul, died at their home in Thaimoottil, Valiyakulangara, on Saturday, hours after Thara gave birth at Vandanam Medical College Hospital. His father, Rajesh, an autorickshaw driver, took him to the Taluk Hospital at Haripad after finding him motionless at around 7.30 am. Doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Rahul was found lying motionless. Though he was taken to a hospital, his life could not be saved.
Rajesh reportedly told the police that the child had choked on milk. However, a post-mortem examination at Alappuzha Medical College Hospital found severe malnutrition and anaemia, with no external injuries.
The examination recorded Rahul’s weight at 7.5 kg, far below the expected weight of about 12 kg for a child of his age. The findings pointed to inadequate nutrition and care as possible factors in his death.
The Thrikkunnappuzha police have registered a case of unnatural death, and a comprehensive probe is under way into the circumstances of Rahul’s death. The authorities are also examining the family’s earlier interactions with child protection agencies and the possibility of legal action against Rajesh under the Juvenile Justice Act for alleged neglect.
Rahul’s parents had previously lost another son. The family attributed his death to an accidental fall from someone’s arms.
Rahul’s four surviving sisters, aged between three and 12, have been taken into CWC care and shifted to a safe facility. Thara and her newborn son remain at Vandanam Medical College Hospital.
Officials said ASHA workers, anganwadi workers and other authorities had repeatedly intervened to address the children’s welfare, but the parents had not co-operated with healthcare measures.
The family had come to the authorities’ attention in 2022. The CWC had taken four of the children into its care for about one-and-a-half years before returning them to their parents. Officials attempted to take custody of the children again about a week before Rahul’s death but reportedly withdrew after Thara threatened suicide.
About six months ago, the family was found living in a makeshift shelter covered with plastic sheets by the roadside in Kumarapuram after rain damaged their house. Following intervention by local residents and elected representatives, Thara and the children were moved to Gandhi Bhavan, a care centre in Pathanapuram.
Thara left the centre with the children after a few days and returned to the family’s ancestral home in Valiyakulangara.
Officials said the children had not been issued Aadhaar cards, though efforts had been made to ensure that government benefits continued to reach the family. They also alleged that the parents had failed to provide adequate nutrition despite repeated interventions.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
