Yashodhara Bangera
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (RJP)

Mangaluru, Apr 21: A newborn girl baby was found under the Haleneeru bridge at Kairdhabettu between Kallamandkur and Puttige villages near Moodbidri on Thursday, April 21. Moodbidri police are in search of the parents of the baby.

Santosh Bhat from Kaikude near Kallamandkur had gone for his morning walk with his dog. The dog ran towards a place under the bridge and started barking. This prompted Bhat to check the spot, and that is when he found the abandoned baby. Ants could be seen moving on the face of the infant. He informed the locals, who then gathered in big numbers.

When nobody was ready to take charge of the baby, gram panchayat member Satish Kallamandkur took the baby away and fed her. He then informed the Moodbidri police station about the baby. With the help of Bharathi and Nagarathna, supervisors of Puttige and Moodbidri woman and child development department, respectively, the baby was taken to Moodbidri community health centre hospital for initial care. The doctors said that the baby was 5 days old. Its umbilical code was not cut.

The baby was later sent to Wenlock hospital in Mangaluru for further treatment and after the treatment the baby was handed over to Puttur baby care centre.

Only police investigation can reveal the identity of the baby. Some say as the baby is a girl, the parents might have abandoned it.

It was later discovered that the officials from the child development department took the Moodbidri police to task as the police who had gone to the police station at 10.30 am with necessary information to register the first information report (FIR) had not come back till 1 pm. Only then did the police come to help in the procedure of handing over the baby to the relevant authorities.

Baby in demand

People in big numbers to the hospital in Moodbidri to see the baby. Some people asked the officials of the child development department that they would look after the baby. But the officials said that they could not entertain such demands as it was legally not possible.