By Matters India Reporter
Idukki, Nov 13, 2019: A village in the Idukki district of Kerala bid a tearful adieu to a 2-year-old infant girl who was allegedly poisoned to death by her mother and her paramour.
Bishop Paul Mullassery of Quilon led the funeral ceremony on November 12 at the Infant Jesus Church in Santhanpara, some 135 km east of Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala.
The family placed Jovana’s favorite doll near her coffin.
Jovana was killed after her mother Liji and Kuzhikandathil Vasim, her alleged lover, poisoned her on November 9 at a lodge at Panvel in Navi Mumbai. Police said that Vasim and Liji too tried to commit suicide later. After autopsy, Jovana’s body reached home on November 12 morning.
It all started on November 7 when the Kerala police unearthed the half-burnt body of 32-year-old Mullor Rijosh, Liji’s husband, from a pit at the Mushroom Hut farmhouse resort in Santhanpara.
Since 2018, Rijosh and Liji had been working at the farmhouse resort where Vasim worked as a manager. While Rijosh oversaw maintenance of the farm and its animals, Liji managed the housework. According to the police, Liji and Waseem had an affair.
On October 31, Rijosh went missing from the farm and his relatives filed a missing person’s complaint on November 1. But on November 4, Liji’s relatives filed a complaint with the Santhanpara police when she and Jovana went missing as well. On the same day, police discovered that Vasim had also gone missing from the farm.
A week after Rijosh went missing, police found his charred, decomposing and partly buried body. Investigations revealed that on November 2 Vasim had directed the driver of an earthmover to cover up the pit. He allegedly told the driver that the body of a dead cow was in the pit.
Vasim’s brother K Fahad Abdul was taken into custody for allegedly attempting to help his brother escape and for attempting to mislead the police.
However, on November 8, Vasim allegedly sent a video to the police claiming that his brother was innocent and that he alone had committed the crime. Police arrested Abdul on November 9 for his alleged involvement in the case.
Rijosh’s post-mortem revealed that the 31-year-old had been sedated and later strangled to death.
Vasim and Liji were allegedly aware that a five-member special team from the Kerala police was hot on their trail. Police reportedly reached Mumbai at 2 pm on November 9, but the duo had attempted suicide three hours earlier.
Sources said that the condition of Vasim and Liji were improving.
“The suspect is still in the ICU of Mumbai-based JJ Hospital. After they are shifted to a ward, the police team from Kerala will collect statements and Panvel police will arrest the accused. Kerala police will be camping there to complete formalities,” said Santhanpara Circle Inspector TR Pradeep Kumar.
Jovana died on the way to the hospital.
Santhanpara mourned the death of Jovana.
Father Vijosh Mulloor, brother of Rijosh, shared in Facebook a touching note and a picture of smiling Jovana smiling with a toy in her hand. He prayed to the almighty saying that if possible make her an angel. …. The little one, all your family members on this earth have forgiven your erring mother in the name of Jesus.
Lord you had told us to let weed alone lest we uproot wheat along with weed. But why did you let this little angel to be plucked along with the weed? The lovely flowed you have plucked is from our hearts.
In an earlier Facebook post, the priest wrote that he was in Mumbai with his brother to receive “our little angel Jovana.” He said he also wanted to meet Liji in the hospital and requested his friends to pray to God to him the courage to tell his sister-in-law, “Myself and my family forgive u with wholeheartedly…”