JAGATSINGHPUR: Child Helpline on Friday took custody of a newborn boy who was found by a couple near a railway track last evening. Nityananda Mallick and his wife Manini Mallick, residents of Mulisingh village under Tirtol police station limits, were on their way home when they heard the baby crying near the railway track at Kabalpur around 7 pm. They had returned from Cuttack by a passenger train.
The baby was wrapped in a bedsheet and appeared to have been abandoned immediately after birth. The couple rescued the newborn and took him home, where they kept him safely overnight. Later, they informed Mulisingh sarpanch Mohammad Safi Azam about the baby and he alerted Child Helpline, and Tirtol police.
Nityananda and Manini, who have three children, appealed to the authorities and the district administration to allow them to take the newborn back and raise him.
Supervisor of Child Helpline Naresh Gochhayat said the newborn was admitted to the special newborn care unit of the district headquarters hospital, Jagatsinghpur, for treatment.
“The condition of the newborn is stated to be normal following the timely rescue. However, it is not possible to hand over the child to the couple due to legal restrictions,” he said. Tirtol IIC Bansidhar Pradhan said, “Police have started an inquiry into the incident to ascertain the circumstances under which the newborn was abandoned.”
