Thane: Helmeted bikers abandon 8-day-old in Dombivli

Two people arrived at the spot on a motorcycle and the pillion rider, who was a woman, placed the baby in the cradle, after which the duo fled. Representation pic

Is the Cradle Baby scheme really useful or is it just giving people an opportunity to abandon their babies? In such an incident, two unknown people left an eight-day-old baby in the cradle placed outside a charitable trust in Dombivli East on Monday. The Manpada police have registered a case in the matter.

According to police, the incident happened around 5.30am on Monday outside Janani Ashish Charitable Trust on Kalyan road, Dombivli east. The caretaker of the Trust, who is the complainant in the case, told police that the watchman saw two people arrive at the spot on a motorcycle.

Placed the baby in cradle, fled
"Both of them were wearing helmets. The pillion rider, who was a woman, placed the boy in the cradle. Thereafter, they sped away," said an officer from Manpada police station. After the watchman informed the authoties, they rescued the boy.

Janani Ashish Charitable Trust takes care of abandoned babies and if people approach them for adoption, they even go for it. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official of the Trust said, "The cradle was kept outside the gate of the Trust. People who don't want to keep their babies rarely place it in the cradle. They usually throw them in dustbins or nullahs so that people don't notice."

Not yet identified
KG Kabdule, senior police inspector, Manpada police station said, "We have registered a case against the two unknown people. They are yet to be identified. We are trying to get some CCTV footages from the locality. Once we identify the duo, the reason behind abandoning the baby will be known."

A case has been registered at Manpada police station in Dombivli under section 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under 12 years) and 34 (common intention) of IPC.