The Child Welfare Committee of Odisha’s Koraput district had to take possession of motherless newborn twin girls on Wednesday after their father and grandparents shrugged off any their responsibility towards them.

According to District Child Protection Officer of Koraput, Rajashree Das, the twins were handed over to Missionaries of Charity centre in Koraput town for care and safekeeping.

“We will again try to contact and counsel the father and grandparents to accept them. If they do not agree, then they will be asked to officially surrender the girls to the CWC,” said Ms. Das.

The DCPO felt poverty and lack of capacity to look after the newborns may be the reason behind the father and grandparents deserting the girls.

Parents of the newborns were poor residents of Karibeda village. On November 23, their mother had travelled in an auto-rickshaw to Pottangi for delivery. But she died on the way after delivering twins.

The newborns were shifted to a hospital in Koraput, but their father and grandparents deserted them. After the condition of the girls improved, the hospital decided to discharge them.