Despite claims of protecting the girl child and increasing the female sex ratio made by the Andhra Pradesh government, incidents of female infants being abandoned, illegal adoptions and infant selling are on the rise in areas that are part of the Amaravati capital region.
Officials admit that in a majority of “infant abandoned” cases, the victims are girl children. They are found abandoned near dustbins, and in bushes and canals in pathetic conditions, the Police and the Women’s Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department officials, who book the cases, say.
The reason for abandoning or killing the babies is given as gender preference and poverty. Investigating officers say the accused cite poverty as the cause to evade criminal cases.
“It is inhuman that female babies are being abandoned or killed brutally. There is a need to enlighten the public on gender equality”, says Police Commissioner D. Gautam Sawang.
The concern comes after police recently rescued infants abandoned at the Mary Matha Shrine at Gunadala, Krishnalanka, and at the Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada and near Gudlavalleru. The body of an infant was found floating in the Ryves canal in Vijayawada. Most of the abandoned babies are female, the Commissioner says.
Child abandonment cases are reported from Vijayawada Rural and Urban mandals, Gannavaram, Gudivada, Nuzvid, Mylavaram, Gampalagudem, Reddygudem and other mandals, many of them in the capital region, an investigation officer notes.
“In many instances, infants are abandoned by unwed mothers, poor couples or a woman who already has one or two girl children. The children are either killed or deprived of parental love as the abandoned babies are taken to the State run Sishu Vihar or orphanages”, K. Krishna Kumari, Project Director, WD&CW Krishna district, says.
District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Ch. Vijay Kumar says that apart from criminal cases, parents who abandon or ill-treat the children are booked under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The police book cases under Section 174 of the Cr. PC (death under suspicious circumstances) when an abandoned infant is found. It is changed to Section 302 (murder) of the IPC if the parents are traced as was the case with the infant thrown into the Ryves canal. Cases were booked against parents and grandparents (for abetting the crime). Police investigation showed that the baby was in good health till she remained in the government hospital where she was born.
“We get one or two child abandoned cases every week. The children are shifted to Sishu Gruha for care and protection. To protect infants, we are planning to introduce the ‘cradle’ system at GGH, bus depots and railway stations. Information boards superscribed with the message ‘“if you don’t want a child, keep the baby in the cradle’ will be displayed at public places”, Ms. Krishna Kumari informs.
“There are many couples who are taking treatment for infertility and keeping the option of adoption open. They approach the WD&CW Department. Many applications are pending with the government. We request women not to kill infants” says Mr. Vijay Kumar.
