Rourkela: A newborn boy was rescued in a critical condition from a garbage heap beside a swollen drain in Sheetalpada slum under Uditnagar police limits on Saturday morning.
Local residents reportedly spotted the baby and immediately alerted the police. The infant was found on a garbage heap beside the drain, where he is suspected to have remained exposed to rain for several hours.
Baby allegedly abandoned overnight
Police suspect that the person who abandoned the newborn may have intended to throw him into the drain. However, the baby apparently fell onto the soft surface of the garbage heap instead.
Preliminary investigation suggests that the infant may have been abandoned sometime during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
The circumstances surrounding the abandonment are being investigated as police work to identify the person or persons responsible.
Newborn battles hypothermia
The baby is currently undergoing treatment at the Special Newborn Care Unit of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH).
Doctors are treating him for neonatal pneumonia and severe hypothermia, reportedly caused by his exposure to the rain and cold conditions.
A case has been registered under Sections 93 and 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to abandonment of a child by a caregiver or parent and attempt to murder.
The Child Welfare Committee has also been informed.
Police search for those responsible
Police have launched efforts to identify and arrest those responsible for abandoning the newborn.
Investigators are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident and whether the child was deliberately abandoned with an intention to cause his death.
The timely intervention of local residents ensured that the baby was rescued and taken for medical treatment, while authorities continue their efforts to trace those responsible.