The parents of a newborn, whose body was found abandoned at Puthur in Kollam district with hands and legs bitten off by stray dogs, were arrested today in connection with the child's death, police said.

The parents-- Mahesh, 26, and Ambili, 23, were arrested after several rounds of questioning, they said.

The couple, who had got married two years ago, told police they did not want to have a second child soon.

Though they tried to abort the baby after Ambili became pregnant, doctors of a hospital at puthoor refused to terminate the pregnancy.

Ambili said she delivered the baby boy a couple of days ago, killed it soon after birth and abandoned the body in a thicket.

'Kudumbashree' (Self Help Group) workers had alerted police two days ago after they saw stray dogs attacking the body of the child.

Police said a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including punishment for murder and preventing a child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth, had been registered against the couple.  -- PTI