By Aanchal Sinha,News18

Copyright news18

The mother and maternal grandfather of a newborn baby have been arrested after the infant was found abandoned in a forest in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, with his lips sealed with glue and a stone in his mouth. The stone was allegedly placed to prevent the baby from crying and alerting anyone. The baby was just 19 days old when he was found two days ago.
According to the police, the baby was born out of an illicit relationship. Fearing social taboo, the woman and her father had rented a room in Bundi using fake identities and arranged for the delivery to be made there. They allegedly attempted to sell the baby, and when that failed, they abandoned him after a few weeks, NDTV reported.
“We have detained a woman based on intelligence inputs. She is being interrogated. Preliminary inputs suggest she had an affair with a man. The child was born out of their relationship. She then abandoned the baby,” NDTV quoted Dharmendra Singh Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Bhilwara, as saying.
A DNA test will also be conducted to confirm the child’s relationship with the woman.
A shepherd found the baby, who was alerted by his faint cries while grazing his goats in Mandalgarh. He promptly alerted the police and the local villagers. Authorities rescued the baby and admitted him to the neonatal intensive care unit at Mahatma Gandhi Hospital.
The baby is currently under medical care, and his condition is slowly improving. However, a doctor at Bhilwara Medical College said the newborn’s health remains critical.
“The baby has been kept on oxygen support since he has been having difficulty breathing. He also suffered burns since he came in touch with hot stones,” Dr Indra Singh, in-charge of the Mother and Child Centre at Bhilwara Medical College, told NDTV.