A 35-year-old woman was found dead in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district due to a botched abortion done by a self-proclaimed healer. Borrowing Rs.2000 from her mother Sumathi who hails from Kalambur village was six months pregnant when she had approached Jayalakshmi a Mid-Nurse doing her own practice without no medical records. Jayalakshmi’s procedure failed and Sumathi died of bleeding and shock. Jayalakshmi’s neighbours immediately contacted the police on seeing Sumathi’s body with the foetus next to her.

The police arrested Jayalakshmi who said she had nothing to do with the incident and she was only accommodating Sumathi for few days; The neighbours claimed Jayalakshmi has been working on non-registered abortions for a very long time now. Jayalakshmi has been booked under IPC sections 316 (causing death of unborn child by act amounting to culpable homicide) and 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.) Abortion procedures after 3months are highly fatal and female infanticide is suspected in this case. Sumathi already has a 10-year-old daughter with her husband.