Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 24 : Kerala Police on Saturday said that they have launched a manhunt against an accused woman in the death of a woman and her newborn.

On Wednesday, a woman and her newborn baby passed away after her husband, Nizam, did not take her to hospital and insisted on delivering the newborn at home.

Given deceased woman's previous medical records -- who had three previous deliveries through caesarian operation -- the locals had asked Nizam to take her second wife immediately to the hospital for medical attention which he refused, leading to the death of the woman and her baby.

Following her death, the locals had protested prompting the police to take action against Nizam which led to his arrest along with a local acupuncture expert who had helped Nizam with the delivery process.

After detailed questioning, the police have also named the local acupuncture expert also as an accused in the case.

Police said that after investigating the case, they have now launched a manhunt also against Regina who is one of the prime accused in the case. Police said she is on the run and they are trying to arrest her.

The police said that the elder daughter of Regina -- who is also a student of acupuncture -- is probing her role as well.

/IANS