A 24-year-old nurse who worked in a private hospital in Kodambakkam, India, has been arrested for allegedly murdering her newborn and then mutilating the body in a horrific way.
Identified only as W. Vinisha, who lives in Kanniyakumari, the woman initially claimed that her baby was stillborn. She had been in a relationship with a 29-year-old software engineer, but they had broken up months before the birth. Allegedly, by the time she realized she was pregnant, it was too late to get an abortion, so Vinisha hid her pregnancy from her coworkers.
It is not known how far along Vinisha was; however, India does allow abortion through 24 weeks in specific situations, such as survivors of rape, women who suffer from mental illness or physical disability, when the preborn child has a birth defect or disability considered “incompatible with life,” and more — as well as for single women. However, courts have previously allowed nearly full-term abortions when petitioned.
“On Sunday, Vinisha complained of abdomen and back pain,” Mambalam police said. “She went to the hospital and got painkillers. Tuesday early morning, she delivered a baby in the washroom of her room. Vinisha claimed that the child was stillborn.”
READ: My healthy, full-term baby was stillborn. Life is a miracle we shouldn’t take for granted.
Vinisha’s roommate came into the bathroom, and discovered a gruesome scene: Vinisha had dismembered her baby. But initially, Vinisha tried to claim it was all a horrible accident. “One of the limbs got stuck in the commode during the birth and she allegedly chopped off the limb,” police continued. “Later, her roommate found the body on the toilet floor. Vinisha then took the baby’s body to the children’s hospital in Egmore. The body has been sent for postmortem, and Vinisha has been hospitalised.”
However, after an autopsy was performed, Vinisha was charged with murder. The cause of death was not disclosed to media. Vinisha has been charged under sections 315 (an act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender).
