It was 9 am on Friday when the police control room in South Bengaluru got wind of the news. A baby boy, born just a few hours ago, was abandoned and found in a plastic bag near a half-constructed building in Celebrity layout, Doddathaguru.
The control room informed the Electronics City police, who set out to rescue the new born.
“Four of us went in a police patrolling car and brought the baby back. It was devastating to see him abandoned like that. His umbilical cord was hanging around his neck and there was blood all over his body. The hospital had not even bothered to clean the baby,” said R Nagesh, Assistant Sub-inspector of Police in Electronics city who lead the rescue mission.
Together, the four police officers took the baby to Lakshmi Nursing Home where the doctors treated him for free.
“The doctors cleaned him up, cut his umbilical cord and gave him all the medicines needed to help him live. He was really weak and the doctor there, one miss Sanjana, took good care of him. Finally, once he was treated, we carried him back to the station with us,” said Nagesh.
The baby, despite being safe from immediate neonatal perils, was unusually dull and quiet and the officers were worried about this.
“We were really scared for his life. He wasn’t making any noise or crying and we were quite helpless then,” said Nagesh.
This was when Archana, a police constable in the station carried the baby and took him aside. Being a new mother herself, Archana had just got back to duty 15 days ago, post her maternity leave. She breastfed the little one and soon after, he let out a fierce cry which turned his plump cheeks and pointy ears a deep red. He then fell asleep on Archana's lap.
“When he cried the whole station burst into a celebration. We were all really scared that he would not make it. He was just very weak. Once he was fed, he got some energy back,” said Nagesh.
Nagesh and the other officers soon went to buy clothes for the baby and other essentials. They even contacted the Sishu Bhava or the government care home for children to whose care the baby was then entrusted.
“The doctors there thanked us a lot and credited us for saving the little one’s life with our timely action,” Nagesh added.
After all the procedures were done with, the baby was finally handed over to the orphanage. But not before being given a rather famous name.
“Kumaraswamy, that’s what we named him. He’s the government’s baby after all. So we decided to name him after the head of our government,” Nagesh said with a laugh that relayed excitement and happiness in equal parts.