New Delhi (CNN) A newborn dumped in rubble near a construction site got a chance at life after a female officer took on the role of his mother, police in Bangalore, India, said.

Authorities received a call Friday about the abandoned baby boy, who was covered in blood and likely a few hours old, when he was brought to the police station in the southern Indian city. The child was barely stirring, just hours after his rescue.

A female officer named Archana breast-fed the boy once.

The female constable decided to breast-feed him while other officers hovered outside waiting for the starving baby to cry out and assure them he was fine.

"She fed the baby for half an hour, and then the baby let out a big cry. The body was shaking -- hands and legs. Everybody got so happy," said Nagesh R, the police official who had found the baby.

The female officer, who goes by her first name, Archana, fed him once, and the child was taken to a government child care center. CNN was unable to reach her for comment.

Read More