india

Updated: Jul 20, 2019 21:39 IST

A newborn girl, wrapped in plastic, was dumped by a woman in a drain near Dogra Gate in Kaithal, about 66km from Karnal, in the early hours of Thursday, according to the police.

A pack of stray dogs pulled the wailing child out of the drain and started barking, which drew the attention of some passersby, Kaithal (City) police station in-charge Pradeep Kumar said.

He said according to the statement of a passerby, Mukhtiar Singh, he spotted a few dogs carrying a plastic bag with a baby inside. “He took the baby away from them and alerted us. Mukhtiar said the girl was shivering and had some injuries on her head,” the police station in-charge added.

The baby was taken to the civil hospital, from where she was referred to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh.

Her condition is stable now, Kaithal chief medical officer SK Nain said on Saturday.

“The baby is about eight weeks premature and weighs less than 1.1kg. She showed signs of recovery after preliminary treatment, but for better medical care, we have shifted her to PGIMER,” he said.

The entire incident of a woman dumping the child and dogs retrieving the baby later was recorded on a CCTV camera installed near the spot.

However, the police said the face of the woman was not clearly visible in the available footage. A team has been formed to find the baby’s mother and identify the woman who dumped her.

The Kaithal police have registered a first information report (FIR) under Section 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years, by parent or person having care of it) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the woman who dumped the child.

The police said custody of the baby would be handed over to the child welfare committee after her treatment.

(With inputs from news agency IANS).