Worried about losing job, woman abandons infant

Bhandup police senior inspector Datta Khandagle said they have traced the infant’s mother and have given her a notice as per law. “The woman is currently admitted to a hospital,” the officer said.

The incident came to light on Saturday when locals alerted the Bhandup police about an infant girl crying on the steps of a building. Based on the complaint, the police team admitted the toddler to the hospital and registered an FIR against unknown persons.

Sub Inspector Vikas Jadhav, who was investigating the case found a laundry mark on the bed sheet in which the girl had been wrapped. Based on the tag, the police contacted the laundry staff who pointed towards a nearby housing society. “We started going through the CCTV camera and found the woman leaving the house with the baby in the bed sheet on Saturday,” Jadhav said.

When the police team reached her flat, they found she lived as a PG with three other girls. Her roommates told the police that she kept largely to herself. The woman had come to the city nearly six to seven months back and worked at a hotel.

She got married in 2021 but her family was unaware about it. Her husband still resided in their hometown where he worked. Initially, the 22-year-old denied having abandoned the infant. “However, our woman constables found some blood marks in the room the girl occupied. On further questioning, the 22-year-old told us that she had been in her room for the past three to four days and had delivered the baby herself on Tuesday,” Jadhav said.

He added, “She said she felt overwhelmed about raising the infant and feared she would lose her job. She had to take leave for four days due to the delivery and worried that if she didn’t turn up for work anymore, they would fire her due to which she decided to abandon the kid. We are now sure her husband knew about the child. When we called him, he said he was unaware about it. He is on his way to the city.”

The officer said the woman is currently admitted in the same hospital where her infant is in the ICU. While technically an FIR has been registered against her, the police have issued her a notice as per law.