THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two-year-old Devendu, who was brutally murdered in Balaramapuram, was laid to rest at her mother's ancestral home. The police had brought her father Sreejith and grandmother Sreekala to attend the funeral rituals. Meanwhile, the police have officially recorded the arrest of the child's uncle, Harikumar. Although suspicions remain regarding the involvement of the child's mother Sreethu, the police have temporarily released her.

The shocking murder took place this morning. According to the postmortem report, the child was thrown into a well alive and died due to drowning. No other injuries were found on the body. Devendu, who had gone to sleep with her parents last night, was discovered missing in the morning. Despite a search by family members, her body was later found in the well. The family had been living in a rented house.

Harikumar, the child's uncle, confessed to the crime, claiming that no one else was involved. However, the motive behind the murder remains unclear. From the beginning of the investigation, Harikumar was uncooperative with the police. After the child was reported missing, the cot in Harikumar’s room was found burnt. When questioned about it, he had no explanation and simply told the police to "investigate and find out." Some locals also alleged that the family had connections to occult practices, though no concrete evidence has been found to support this claim.