Unwed mother in Maharashtra throws newborn girl from terrace

Afraid of people discovering her affair, a 19-year-old woman allegedly threw her newborn from the terrace of a two-storey building in Pune on Saturday. The infant, a baby girl, died on the spot.

The Hinjewadi police have booked Luxmi Bharat Ingale who is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

Originally from Latur, Ingale came to Pune a year ago to do her
diploma in education. She was living in a rented flat on the first floor of Maulikrupa building in Thergaon, the police said.

GS Madgulkar, senior inspector, told DNA that Ingale had delivered the baby girl at 8:15pm in her flat and was all alone. “It was a premature delivery. Ingale was only seven months pregnant,” said Madgulkar. “Her cousin, who stays in Rupinagar, had come to meet her in the evening and was shocked to see her with a baby.”

He rushed out of the house to call the flat owner’s wife. “In the meantime, Ingale wrapped the baby in a cloth, ran to the terrace and threw her down.”

The infant fell with a loud thud on the roof of one Somnath Mandlik’s house. She then rolled down and fell to the ground.
Mandlik rushed out of his house and saw the dead child. When he looked up, he saw Ingale standing on the terrace and sobbing. He raised an alarm following which other residents gathered around the house.

Ingale was taken to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and later shifted her to a private hospital.

“The girl was having a relationship with a boy from her hometown. And the child was borne out of that relationship,” a police officer said.

The police are now investigating whether her family was aware of her pregnancy.

Ingale has been booked under the sections of 302 (attempt to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the Indian Penal Code.