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Police in Andhra Pradesh have traced a woman suspected to be the mother of the newborn girl who was found abandoned and later died at Varadaiahpalem in Tirupati district on September 29.
The one-day-old child was discovered in a shop near a bus stand by sanitation workers who noticed her showing signs of movement. They immediately alerted authorities, and the baby was rushed to a local hospital in Varadaiahpalem before being shifted to a hospital in Tirupati town when her condition worsened. Despite efforts to save her, doctors declared her dead soon after.
According to Varadaiahpalem Circle Inspector (CI) Murali, the woman suspected to be the mother was traced two days later through CCTV footage. “The woman is homeless and appears to have mental health issues, as does her mother. Her brother is being tried in a murder case,” CI Murali told TNM on Monday, October 7.
The police have since sent to her mother’s home and are awaiting medical confirmation, including a femur bone comparison and DNA analysis, to establish maternity. “Until the procedure is complete, she would remain an accused,” CI Murali said, noting that the woman showed little ability to respond to questioning and denied that the child was hers.
The case, filed on the complaint of the local Child Development Project Officer (CDPO), has been registered under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 93 (exposure and abandonment of a child under 12 years, by parent or person caring for the child) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).