Minor girl abandoned in Delhi, parents held

New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS) The Delhi Police late on Saturday claimed to have solved the case of nearly four-month-old infant abandoned in the national capital within 24 hours and arrested her mother and stepfather.

Police said accused Irshad Ali, 33, of Farrukhabad in Uttar Pradesh and his wife Mobina Khatoon, 18, were staying in a rented accommodation in Sangam Vihar area.

Mobina gave birth to the girl, named Nagma, in September 2016. "She married Ali after her first husband Raju deserted her and went to Nepal. Ali works as a labourer and has four children from an earlier marraige, including two daughters," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Banniya said.

Ali was irritated over fostering Nagma and had even threatened to kill her. He also pressurised Mobina to abandon her, Banniya said.

The couple abandoned her in the forest area of south Delhi on Friday night, where she was found by a priest of nearby temple.

The infant has since been admitted to All India Institute of Medical Science childcare centre. A police officer said doctors at AIIMS have declared the infant "medically fit".

The priest, Sandeep Shastri, told IANS he heard the baby's cries around 8 a.m. near the temple in Tughlakabad village when he had gone to answer the nature's call.

"I heard the child crying and ran for help. Fortunately, dogs roaming around the temple did not attack her," Shastri said.

A police team along with the child's photograph inquired in surrounding areas and zeroed in on her parents, also taking the help of social and electronic media," the officer said.

Abandoned babies are a perpetual problem in India where, according to a report by Justice Verma that was tasked to look into the amendments to present criminal law in 2013 in the wake of increasing number of crime against women in the country.

The report said that some 60,000 babies are abandoned every year in India due to various reasons, including poverty. A majority of the abandoned babies are girls.