TEAM HERALD
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MERCES: In a shocking incident, a 15-day-old baby girl was found abandoned in the bushes near Kenkre Estate at Santa Cruz, before she was rescued by sarpanch Tony Fernandes and others.
Speaking to the media, Fernandes informed that on Sunday at about 10:20 pm, he got a call from a villager, Rosario Botelho, stating that an infant had been abandoned near the Kenkre Estate and asked for his help to deal with the situation.
“My nephew and I rushed to the spot and shifted her to the casualty ward of GMC,” he said and added that he later notified Old Goa Police. Fernandes further informed that the baby was then referred to a ward, where she was treated in the ICU by Dr Priyanka. “If the baby had to remain there for long, chances were there that she would have been mauled by dogs,” he added and demanded stringent punishment for the parents for abandoning the infant.
When contacted, Dr Priyanka said it appears that the infant was brought in the GMC for treatment by her parents on January 18 as she bore a similar resemblance. However she told that she can’t be cent percent sure that it is the same child as most of the babies look alike. When asked about the baby’s health status, Dr Priyanka said the baby is unwell and is being treated for anaemia.
Old Goa PSI, Sagun Sawant, informed Herald that the GMC doctors have informed that the Asilo Hospital had referred a similar looking baby for treatment in the hospital who was discharged on January 18.
“We went through the records of both GMC and Asilo Hospital but could not get a complete address of the suspect woman, which is only registered as Duler-Mapusa,” he informed, adding that not even a phone number of the suspect woman is available.
Sawant further said the police have begun search of the suspect woman in Duler but without success. “We have also asked the Asilo Hospital authorities to provide us details of all the deliveries that took place on January 7, the day the abandoned infant was born,” he added.
He then added that a case has been registered against unknown parents under Section 317 of IPC and 8 of the Children’s Act and police is investigating the case.
