Mumbai horror: Woman abandons 15-day-old baby on local train; search for mother under way

NEW DELHI: A woman abandoned her 15-day-old baby on a local train in Navi Mumbai by handing over the child to two other passengers and leaving them behind while she travelled ahead, police said on Wednesday.

The incident happened on Monday afternoon. An official confirmed that efforts are ongoing to trace her.

According to officials, the woman was sitting near the door of a suburban train on the Harbour line. She told two other female passengers to help her get off the train because she was carrying an infant in one hand and luggage in the other.

The two passengers were supposed to get down at Juinagar station. But to help her, they continued their journey till next station, Seawoods.

At Seawoods station, the two women got off first. The mother then handed the baby to them, pretending she would get her luggage. However instead of getting down, she stayed at the door and let the train leave, police said.

At first, the two women thought the woman mistakenly did not align and would return back by taking other train, but she did not return.

The two women then went to the police with the baby and narrated the incident. They were taken to the Vashi railway police , that began a search for the mother.

Police have filed a case against the woman under section 93 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for abandoning a child under 12 years of age.

CCTV footage later showed the woman getting off at Khandeshwar station, which is five stations ahead of Seawoods. Police are continuing efforts to trace her.

In a similar case last week, Panvel Town police found a three-day-old baby abandoned in a basket on a road in Takka Colony, Navi Mumbai. The parents left a note saying they could not afford to raise the child.