17-year-old who killed one-month-old after boyfriend left her arrested

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A 17-year-old girl was arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing her month-old child. The body of an infant was found on October 31 in an auto rickshaw in Qureshi Nagar, Bandra West, wrapped in blue polythene and put in a cloth bag with a handkerchief knotted around its neck.

A case of murder was registered following the postmortem report which confirmed death due to strangulation. Vijayalaxmi Hiremath, senior inspector Bandra police station, said, "We scanned hundreds of CCTV cameras in the area [around where the auto was parked] but got no clue regarding the case."

The officers, including Inspector Manohar Dhanawde, looked at details of more than 12,000 girls born at local civic hospitals between September and October 1, and also those whose home births were known. However, neither led to the possible identity of the child or her parents. It was a beggar, say Bandra cops, who helped them crack the case.

"We scanned records at Bhabha hospital, VN Desai hospital, Cooper hospital, Sion hospital and several private hospitals, according to which 3,000 baby girls were born during the period we were looking at," said Hiremath.

Inspector Pramod Kumbhar and his team also went to religious establishments across the city and spoke to beggars asking if they had spotted anyone. "At a Tardeo place of worship, a beggar said a young girl would visit with an infant but had not been seen since October. When we tracked the girl, she revealed that her boyfriend would question her about the kid's father," Hiremath said.

According to the minor girl's statement, her 14-year-old boyfriend left her after a heated argument and in anger she strangled the child. She stuffed the body inside a bag and kept it in the seat of the auto.

The body was found by Mohammad Nadim, who then contacted and the auto rickshaw owner Yamin Qureshi and they informed the police. "We have registered an offence under Section 302 of the IPC," said an officer. The accused has been sent to a children's home.

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