Cleaning staff found it in washroom of hospital in Virar; police say a minor who had been raped had a miscarriage
Fire Brigade personnel broke the squat toilet without injuring the premature baby. Pic/ Hanif Patel
The body of a premature baby, that was stuck in the squat toilet of a government-run hospital in Virar West, was recovered on Thursday morning. There was no action taken, as the police have found it was miscarried by a minor girl who was raped. They are waiting for a DNA test on the baby.
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The baby was first seen by cleaning staff at the hospital. "The female cleaning staff noticed blockage in the toilet. While cleaning it she saw the head and immediately informed me," said a Medical Officer at the hospital, Dr Vipin Jain, who informed local police and Fire Brigade officials.
Fire Brigade recovers baby
Fire Brigade personnel carefully broke the squat toilet without injuring the baby. "It took us two-and-a-half hours to remove the tiles and break the squat toilet before recovering the baby. We immediately handed it over to a doctor for a check-up," Chief Fire Official (CFO) Vishal Shirke told mid-day.
However, a team of doctors present at the spot, declared it dead. It was a six to seven month old foetus. "The umbilical cord attached to the baby suggests that the mother might have had a miscarriage while squatting to relieve herself," said Dr Jain, who further said that there was a free medical check-up camp for expecting mothers at the hospital on Wednesday, when around 25 pregnant women had turned up.
He said a 17-year-old girl had visited the hospital on Thursday morning, following pain in her stomach. During the medical check-up a doctor said it was a police case she was found to be pregnant. In the CCTV footage seen on Thursday morning, the minor girl is seen going into the washroom and coming out after sometime.
"We have kept the records of all expectant mothers who visited the hospital on Wednesday. The police have recovered the CCTV footage and the medical record of expecting mothers to investigate the case," said Dr Jain. The Virar police had registered a case under Section 318 (concealment of birth by secret disposal) of IPC against unknown persons and during investigation, it was found that the minor girl had miscarried inside the washroom.
"The minor girl is a rape survivor and a POCSO case was registered almost two months ago. She was already pregnant when the case was filed, and the rape accused was arrested. She had not aborted the baby and on Thursday morning she visited the hospital due to abdominal pain," said an officer of Virar police station.
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