The body of a premature newborn baby boy was found on Monday near Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, abandoned in a garbage dumping area.
Local residents then alerted the Gandhi Nagar police station.
“He was a 7-month premature baby, who was dumped. We are yet to trace the parents but usually in these cases, it is hard to find the parents of the abandoned baby. This has been the third case in last four months in this area where we got complaints about baby being abandoned and left in a garbage bin by the parent,” said Inspector Sanjeev Rao of the police station.
A case has been registered under Section 318 of IPC (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body).
According to experts, there have been a spate of cases of newborns being abandoned in Hyderabad in the recent past.
As many as 17 newborns have been abandoned by their parents in a span of three months, said child rights activist and president of the Balala Hakkula Sangham, Achyuta Rao.
“In the past three months, 14 newborn girls and 3 newborn boys have been abandoned by their parents. Last year nearly 50 children were found, in garbage bins, temples or drains. In these cases, 90% of the children are girls,” he adds.
According to Save the Children - an NGO working for the welfare of children - in most of the cases, families belonging to poor backgrounds who migrate from neighbouring states, abandoned their new-born babies.
“There can be more than one reason. But as in Hyderabad, there are many migrant labourers who come from other states, they mostly abandon the child after delivery in the hospital and leave for their native place. This makes it even more difficult track the parents,” says Nithin Kumar from Save the Children.
He also adds that in most of the cases, it is the girl child that is the victim.
“These cases are higher in Nalgonda and Sangareddy districts. In rural areas, where male child is given preference, girl child becomes a victim. If a mother gives birth to more than two girls, there is a high possibility that the family might abandon the third girl child,” he adds.
Newborns who are born disabled are also abandoned, he says.
The children that are found abandoned are shifted to the state-run Sishu Vihar or Sishu Gruha.
“When a child is found abandoned, the police refers the child to Child Welfare Committee (CWC). And according to their age, they are shifted to Sishu Vihar or Sishu Gruha. The abandoned children are also put up for adoption. Even while the number of abandoned children is increasing, surprisingly, the number of couples applying for adoption is much higher than the available children,” says Rubina Philip, member of Mahita, a Hyderabad-based NGO working for the welfare of the girl child.