Just hours after entering into the world on the eventful Children’s Day, a newborn baby boy was abandoned in a bush at Anantharam village in Aswaraopeta mandal in the early hours of Thursday. The incident sparked outrage in the village.
The newborn boy, apparently dumped in bushes a few hours after birth, was discovered by some women farmers, who heard his cries while on their way to agricultural fields. They immediately rescued him before shifting him to the village where a local Anganwadi worker nursed the infant.
As the villagers expressed anguish over the newborn baby being abandoned, an issueless couple reportedly came forward to adopt him. Alerted by the village elders, the local police reached the village and inquired about the incident. When the police told the villagers that the rescued baby would be handed over to the staff of the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department, they strongly insisted that the rescued infant be given to the issueless couple at their village for adoption, as they were unaware of the adoption procedure. The police explained to them the procedure of legal adoption and shifted the baby boy to government hospital at Aswaraopeta.
When contacted, Aswaraopeta SI Madhuprasad told The Hindu that the rescued boy was said to be in good health. He would be handed over to the WD&CW staff for proper care and rehabilitation in compliance with the procedures, he said.
Efforts are on to identify the persons responsible for the abandonment of the newborn baby and an investigation into the incident is under way, Mr. Madhuprasad added.
