PANJIM: The Porvorim Police arrested a retired Delhi-based private firm employee for abandoning a newborn in the premises of a house belonging to a local family in Nerul, at Tuesday dawn.
The 62-year-old, who flew down from Delhi to Goa with his wife, their daughter, his sister-in-law and the infant, is arrested for the criminal offence. The family hails from west Delhi and owns an apartment in Candolim, where they lived during their visit to the coastal State.
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Police sources said that the owner of the Nerul house informed the police on finding a baby, aged around one month, wrapped in a cloth in a basket. The CCTV footage helped the police zero-in on the accused, who is said to be the biological father of the newborn. However, the DNA test of the man, his sister-in-law with whom he allegedly had an illicit relationship and the infant will be conducted to ascertain their relationship with the little one.
On scanning through the CCTV footage, also accessed by Herald, the investigation team found that the man randomly picked the location to abandon the child.
He was wearing a cap and covered his face with a handkerchief to avoid being identified. The basket, he carried is also seen in the footage as it probably had the infant in it, which he then kept in the verandah of the house.
“He was probably looking for a well-to-do family where he could abandon the baby. His movements were captured on the CCTV camera and on intensified search, we zeroed-in on the 62-year-old.
He was arrested from his Candolim flat and is undergoing custodial interrogation. Medical examination will give us a clear picture,” an officer told Herald.
As per the police report, the suspected mother is mentally challenged and as such, the newborn is handed over to the authorities of Apna Ghar for safe custody and protection until further investigation. “The newborn is being taken care of,” said the sources.
A case under Section 317 (Exposure and Abandonment of Child under 12 years by parent or person having care of it) and Section 8 (Child Abuse and Trafficking) of the Goa Children’s Act is registered against the accused.
