Gandhinagar, Oct 10 (IANS): A man who had abandoned an 8/9-month-old boy child here on Friday evening, following which the police swung into action to collect the infant's whereabouts, has been finally traced to Kota in Rajasthan, officials said on Saturday.

Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, had earlier in the day said that the police have sent requests to other states regarding the child, who was abandoned on Friday evening.

The man has been identified as Sachin Kumar Nandkishor Dixit, a resident of Sector 26 in Gandhinagar. The details were gathered by the police through the registration number of the car from which a man was seen coming out -- in the CCTV footage -- and dumping a child.

Interacting with the media, Sanghavi said: "The police came to know that the child's name is Shivansh. His father had been living at that place since 10 years... he was working with a Vadodara-based company called 'Ozone'. Sachin originally belongs to Uttar Pradesh. The police also got this information that the child was not the son of his wife and currently, the identity of the child's other parent is dubious. Once we question his father, more details will emerge."

The police have named the child Smit.

Sanghavi said the Gandhinagar Police team has reached Rajasthan to bring back the abandoned child's father. The minister also said that there were more than 190 requests from couples who wished to adopt the child.

The boy was found in an abandoned state on the gates of Swaminarayan cattlepond on Friday evening.

"The child was abandoned over an altercation between the husband and his wife -- who is not the mother of the child," Sanghavi told the media.

"Within 4 to 5 hours, the police will be bringing back the boy's father and interrogate him for further investigation. We have received help from all sections of the society -- from the police, the hospital staff and the media -- who did a fabulous job in finding the whereabouts of the child," added Sanghavi.

"When I held the child on my arms on Saturday morning, I just wondered how could someone abandon such a beautiful boy? Throughout the day, we have received requests from over 190 couples who wanted to adopt this child," added Sanghavi.

Speaking on the future of the child as he is torn between the biological mother and the 'stepmother', the minister said: "The government's priority is to hand over the child to the parents and if any imbroglio follows, the state government would take action."

When the police went to Sachin's Gandhinagar residence, the house was found locked and the cellphone switched off.

The neighbours told the police that Sachin had left for Rajasthan on Saturday morning, the minister said.