The Kandivali police on Thursday booked a 22-year-old woman for allegedly throwing her newborn daughter from the bathroom window of her 17th floor residence.
According to the police, the infant was found dead in the water supply duct of the Jai Bharat Cooperative Housing Society in Lalji Pada, Kandivali (West), on Thursday evening. The incident came to light after some residents complained to the security guard, Manoj Sharma, of water leakage in the building.
“As soon as I opened the door of the duct area, I saw a baby lying on the ground. I also saw that some water pipelines were broken, resulting in the leakage. I informed the society committee and they called the police,” Mr. Kumar said.
A resident, who did not wish to be named, said, “Initially, it looked like a doll lying on the ground, but later we realised that it was a child. No one in the society even knew who the baby’s parents were.”
A team from the Kandivali police station reached the spot and started making inquiries with residents of all the flats adjacent to the duct. “When we reached the 17th floor and knocked on the door, we noticed that the woman who opened the door had blood on her clothes. One of our female personnel asked her what was wrong and she said she was menstruating. However, we still had our suspicions and questioned her, and after a little effort, she confessed that she had given birth to a baby in the bathroom in the morning,” police inspector Ravi Adane, Kandivali police station, said.
He said the woman confessed to the police that she threw the baby out of the bathroom window, as she was worried about her upbringing and future.
“The accused’s husband did not give her money for household expenditure. His monthly income is only ₹7,000 and he did not even take her to the hospital for delivery. The couple had an argument after the baby was born, where the woman asked him for money and he offered her ₹200. They already have a son and a daughter, due to which she was worried about the baby’s future,” Mr. Adane said.
The police have booked the accused for murder and abandonment of a child under the Indian Penal Code.
“The accused is admitted to hospital as she needs post-delivery medical care. We have withheld her identity for the time being for her own safety,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone XI) Mohan Dahikar said.
