Sixth in line, couple leave baby-girl at bus stop

The newborn, found on a bench at Rajkot State Transport (ST) bus stand by cops on September 5, was taken to the neonatal ward at KT Children’s Hospital. Suffering from malnutrition, she is the only one in this ward being ‘‘guarded’’ by a woman constable, while other babies are looked after by their mothers.

The police have arrested Hansaben Devipujak (36) and Ghusabhai Devipujak, residents of a slum opposite the railway station. ‘‘We checked registers at all nursing homes in the city, focusing on delivery records of September 4,’’ said A-Division PSI and investigating officer G A Sarvaiya.

“The baby is in the custody of police and would be handed over to her parents only after court’s permission,” he added.

‘‘The mother broke down during interrogation and admitted to the crime, but the father kept mum,’’ Sarvaiya said. Hansaben, who got bail on Thursday, said, “We are very poor. We abandoned her because we have five daughters, and are not in condition to support another girl.’’

The baby will be sent to an orphanage after her treatment, said Sarvaiya. Police said in such cases, parents are forced to accept the child. ‘‘In all probability, the court may ask them to produce themselves along with the baby at regular intervals at the nearest police station,” he added.

It was the column about number of children that helped police zero in on the Devipujaks. ‘‘In most cases, girls born on that day were either first or second borns. In this case, she was the sixth, though records showed her to be fourth,” Sarvaiya said.

Police kept a watch on the couple for two days before arresting them on Wednesday. “We found that the newborn was missing and arrested the couple on grounds of suspicion,’’ he said.