A Kerala man was arrested for allegedly refusing to let his wife breastfeed his newborn.
A man in Kerala's Kozhikode was arrested after he allegedly refused to let his wife breastfeed their newborn son for 24 hours following the directions of a religious leader.
On Wednesday, Abu Bakr's wife gave birth to a baby boy at about 2 pm at a hospital in Mukkam.
Abu Bakr, 31, was advised by 75-year-old Hydrose Thangal, who was also arrested, to only feed the child after he has heard five Azaans or prayers called out from mosques.
Doctors and the police argued that he cannot be allowed to endanger his child, but Bakr remained adamant. He also threatened to divorce his wife after she insisted on feeding the child, police said.
"A newborn has to be fed or breastfed for at least two hours to ensure that there is no life-threatening complication," Dr Saji said.
The police and doctors tried to talk Bakr into going to the city Medical College. He left with his wife and child, but instead of going to the Medical College hospital, took them to an unknown place.
He was arrested from Mukkam, 30 km from Kozhikode, on Saturday.
Abu Bakr told the police that he allowed his son to be fed only after 24 hours. Police said the mother, who has also been named in the police case, was not arrested so that she can take care of her 3-day-old son.
The Kozhikode Collector Prashanth Nair had directed the police to file a case under Juvenile Justice Act and ensure safety of the newborn. He decried the incident in a Facebook post, saying no religion asks a newborn baby to be starved and that the man who showed this cruelty and those who prompted him need "treatment".