Kerala: Newborn Baby Found Abandoned, Mother Arrested

Police arrested a 32-year-old woman after she allegedly abandoned her newborn baby in Ramanattukara near Kozhikode

New Delhi: Police on Thursday arrested a 32-year-old woman after she allegedly abandoned her newborn baby in Ramanattukara near Kozhikode. They said the 11-day-old baby boy was discovered by migrant workers on a highway roadside in Ramanattukara on Thursday morning while they were going for work.

One of them took the infant in their hands and approached the police. The baby was taken to the Medical College hospital where the child is reportedly doing fine. After launching an investigation into the incident, the police took its mother Fathima, who was separated from her husband, into custody.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the baby was born following a relationship outside her marriage and the newborn child was abandoned fearing that it would become a liability for her, police said. The woman, hailing from Karuvanthiruthi, told the police that she was living separated from her husband and was unable to take care of the child, The Hindu reported. 

An investigation has been launched to trace the man who fathered the child and it was found that he was currently in a Gulf country, police said.

The woman has been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under 12 years, by parent or person having care of it) and relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, police added.