The hawker stone the backpack from a train compartment. The hawker stone the backpack from a train compartment.

The little baby boy is just 15-days old The little baby boy is just 15-days old

It's a shocker that hawker Kishore Kale will never forget. Little did he know that the abandoned backpack he had picked up from a train compartment on Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai-Belapur Harbour line would not contain cash and valuables he was hoping for. Instead, when he unzipped the bag after reaching Kurla station, a newborn baby showed up from it, and with its little hands the baby reached out for the 20-year-old hawker. And with that one touch of their hands, it all changed for the baby who could have suffocated to death.However, the baby's sight was enough for Kale to lose his nerve; he panicked, then looked around and decided to abandon the backpack and run to avoid trouble.But as he was fleeing, an alert ticket checker got suspicious and nabbed Kale. As Kale tried to explain his situation, a crowd gathered at the spot, making things even more difficult for him. He tried his best, but his words failed to convince the crowd that was too excited by the unfolding drama. Soon the police arrived and Kale was detained. The 15-day-old baby, a boy, was rescued from the bag, and doctors from Bhabha Hospital confirmed that the baby was in good health. He has now been sent to Asha Sadan, a welfare home in Dongri.Initially, it was suspected that Kale had some connection with the baby and it was he who had planned to abandon it. However, police interrogation confirmed that Kale's version was true. In his defence, Kale had said that he was just an impoverished hawker who sells nail paint and was only hoping to find some money in the bag for buying himself a meal. "We have interrogated Kale thoroughly. His version is credible and he had no clue about what the bag contained. When found out, he promptly decided to abandon it and run. We have released him on Tuesday," said police inspector Jitendra Singh Rathod of the Wadala Government Railway Police (GRP) that is investigating the case. In fact, police praised Kale for saving the baby. One officer said that had not Kale mistaken the bag as containing money, because of its heavy weight, the baby would never have been saved.Preliminary investigations revealed that the baby was not stolen. "We had sent our wireless messages to the police in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai jurisdictions to report to us about any stolen baby. However, none of these areas have reported about any stolen baby in the last 15 days," Rathod said. Wadala GRP teams are now enquiring at hospitals in the city to collate the names and addresses of parents of newborn babies. Police will find out from these parents whether their babies are still with them.Investigators are looking into several angles, like whether the baby was born out of marriage, besides checking the CCTV footage between CST and Kurla stations to ascertain who was carrying the bag in the first place. Rathod said since the baby is a boy, possibility of anyone abandoning the baby because of gender - as happens in case of a girl child born to a poor family - has been ruled out. Also, since the baby boy was found in good health, no one could have abandoned him because of any serious ailment as was found in several such cases, Rathod reasoned.Meanwhile, Asha Sadan and the GRP have been flooded with calls from couples who want to adopt the baby. However, both the Sadan authorities and the police said no decision in this regard can be taken till the baby's parents are identified.