While the city was celebrating the festival of lights, darkness took form when an unidentified woman allegedly abandoned her baby girl, barely a day or two old, to die on a deserted stretch in Malad West. The Bangur Nagar police found the baby near the footpath in front of the Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Udyan, commonly referred to as back road garden. Apart from a few pedestrians and buses ferrying call centre employees, the spot sees very little activity at night.
Around 11.30 pm on Saturday, a passer-by out on a walk heard the faint cries of an infant and immediately alerted the police. “The newborn was found wrapped in cloth, with ants crawling all over her body. As she was bitten all over, she was in pain and wailing. It seemed like divine intervention that she kept crying, as her voice ultimately reached someone willing to help,” said an officer from Bangur Nagar police station.
Upon receiving the call in the control room, a police team rushed to the spot, brought the baby safely to the police station, and, with the help of women constables, cleaned and wrapped her in fresh cloth before taking her to Shatabdi Hospital for immediate medical attention. Doctors later confirmed that the baby is safe and in a stable condition. She is being cared for in the hospital’s children’s ward. Sources revealed that several people have already come forward expressing willingness to adopt the infant.
“A case has been registered against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. We are scanning CCTV footage from the area to trace the person who abandoned the newborn,” said Senior Inspector Ravindra Avhad of the Bangur Nagar police station.
