Mumbai: Auto driver rescues day-old girl dumped in Andheri

A one-day-old baby girl was found abandoned in Andheri (East) in the wee hours of Saturday.

Around 1am, an autorickshaw driver who was returning home heard the cries of a baby outside Shyamlal Chaurasia Chawl near Krishna Dyeing Compound.

“The baby was shivering in the cold. The auto driver told his family about the baby and they took it home. Then they called the control room. The police rushed to the spot and took charge of the baby,” said Pradeep Gosavi, senior police inspector, Andheri (East) police station.

The police said the baby had been crying for quite some time, but the locals who were huddled in their houses ignored the bawling.

The baby was rushed to BMC-run Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle around 2am for a medical examination. “The police brought the baby here on January 5. There was no injury mark on her. She will be kept in the paediatric ward for another 2-3 days for routine health examination,” said Dr Shashikant Wadekar, medical superintendent, Cooper Hospital.

“We are questioning the nursing clinics and maternity homes in the vicinity to compile a list of women who were pregnant and delivered girls in the last week. Also we are visiting homes of the new mothers to ascertain who abandoned the baby,” said an investigating officer from the Andheri (East) police station.

The police have registered a case of Section 317 (intentionally abandoning the child under twelve years) against the parents which can lead to imprisonment of up to seven years.