Palakkad, 01 Oct(H.S.): Police have arrested a woman on charges of drowning her two young children in a water tank at their rented house in Menonpara, near Kozhinjampara, in Palakkad district.

The accused, Nivedya, allegedly confessed during questioning to killing her five-year-old daughter, Jennifer Juliet, and three-year-old son, Robin Christopher. She was produced before a court and remanded in custody.

According to police, postmortem examinations confirmed that both children died from drowning. Water was found in their lungs, and no other injuries were reported.

Investigators said Nivedya allegedly drowned the children one after the other in a concrete water tank inside the bathroom. The tank was reportedly three-quarters full at the time.

Police said she told investigators that she wanted to live independently and pursue modelling, and considered the children an obstacle to those plans. However, officers are examining her account and have not reached a final conclusion about the motive.

The family had moved into the rented house about two months earlier. Relatives said Nivedya and her partner, John Kumar, had been arguing frequently in recent months.

John Kumar told police that the children often played near the tank, but he doubted that both could have drowned accidentally at the same time.

His sister, Bency, lodged a complaint seeking a thorough investigation into the deaths. She alleged that Nivedya paid little attention to the children and said the circumstances were suspicious.

Police are examining Nivedya’s mobile phone records and digital activity to establish the sequence of events and determine whether other circumstances contributed to the alleged crime. The investigation is continuing.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman