Abandoned baby dies on the banks of Hooghly river

HOWRAH: A new-born girl child was abandoned to die on the banks of river Hooghly in West Bengal's Howrah district while two police stations allegedly squabbled over jurisdiction.

A departmental enquiry was ordered in Sunday into the alleged callous attitude of the police by Howrah Superintendent of Police, Neeraj Kumar Singh.

Local people found the new-born on thev Bimala Devi Ghat in Bally area this morning. The baby was alive and gasping for breath, the SP said.

Local people alleged that they informed Malipanchghara police station which is five minutes walking distance from the place where the baby was found, but the police officials there said that the area fell under Bally police station.

Policemen from Bally police station arrived at around 1 pm but the baby had died by then.

Police however denied that they were late. "We were informed at around 11.30 am and reached the place within an hour. Since most of the cops were pursuing other cases, they couldn't make it immediately," an investigating officer said.

However, Howrah SP ordered an enquiry to find out whether there were any lapses on the part of the police. The enquiry will be carried out by Additional SP (Town) Milan Kanta Das, Singh said.