BENGALURU: A newborn girl was flung from a running autorickshaw near a BBMP hospital in Yeshwanthpur on Thursday afternoon, according to two social workers who witnessed it. Soon after, the duo reportedly called an 108 ambulance and brought the baby to Vani Vilas hospital. However, the baby was declared brought dead by the hospital authorities.
Dr Premalatha R, HoD, Paediatrics, Vani Vilas Hospital, said, “Two social workers, named Jyothi and Saraswati, brought the baby in an ambulance around 2.35 pm. She was a premature baby and wasn’t even cleaned after delivery. The umbilical cord was cut and we found a thread around the cord. The baby weighed 1.2 kg and there were no congenital abnormalities.”
Victoria Hospital police station officials said they had sent the details of the social workers to Yeshwantpur police station for investigation.
A police officer from Yeshwantpur police station said, “A case has been registered. When contacted, the social workers told us that they found a newborn baby abandoned near Yeshwantpur railway station. However, we don’t know anything about the auto. We weren’t told about it. We were busy with the railway protests today. We will investigate the case once we get the post-mortem report.”
According to the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16), the sex ratio at birth (females per 1,000 males) in the last five years in Bengaluru Urban is 729. In Bengaluru Rural, it is 1,035. Dr M Rajini, deputy director, PCPNDT, department of health and family welfare, said, “There could be two reasons for this -- Bengaluru Urban has migratory population and a lot of affluent families do not opt for a second child, especially if the first child is a boy. Sex selective abortion cases are very less in Bengaluru Urban.”
“However, this is a case of female infanticide and does not come under the purview of PCPNDT (Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994). Sex of the foetus cannot be determined until 16 weeks and after this, abortion isn’t possible with pills or by quacks. Medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) requires approval by two doctors. In 90 per cent of MTP, the cause is unmet needs of the women rather than sex selection,” she added.
Unplanned pregnancy, baby from an extra-marital affair and conception out of wedlock are termed as unmet needs, she explained.