Navi Mumbai: Newborn Found Dead, Teen Mother Arrested

On January 13th, a newborn girl was found dead in the parking lot of a cooperative housing society, located in the suburban area of Ulwe, Navi Mumbai. The 20-year-old unmarried girl who had given birth in the restroom of her aunt's house has been charged with murder, for allegedly throwing the baby out of the restroom's window.

According to Asst. Police Inspector, Ganesh Jadhav (NRI coastal police station), an autorickshaw driver, at around 11:30 pm, informed a patrolling team about a newborn lying in the parking lot of a housing society. The police arrived on the scene and observed a newborn baby lying close to an electric meter box with a group of people gathered around. The baby still had its umbilical cord attached. The police immediately took her to a civic hospital in Vashi, where she was declared dead.

The police returned to the building that night for further investigation. They checked the CCTV footage and went to each flat to enquire, but found no leads. However, upon returning to the scene where the baby was found, the police noticed that the glass of a toilet's window on the second floor was missing. On further interrogation with the family residing there, police personnel learned that their 20-year-old niece had been living with them, for the past 8 months and had been complaining of abdominal pain. They had also visited a hospital in sector 23 in Ulwe, where a doctor gave painkillers and suggested sonography.

Suspicious of the girl, the police interrogated her, but she did not reveal anything. The police then took the teenager to Meenatai Thackeray Hospital , Nerul for further medical examinations. The doctor confirmed that she was indeed pregnant and had delivered 2-4 hours before. The girl then confessed that she had delivered the baby and had thrown her out the window. “She claimed that the baby bump was not visible and the family was unaware,” said Ganesh Jadhav.

Based on her confession, the police booked her for murder under sections 302 (murder) and 315 (act done with intent to prevent a child from being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) of the Indian Penal Code. DNA tests have been taken to confirm the father of the child as the girl allegedly had multiple affairs. An official from the coastal police station stated that the girl could have also had a physical relationship with her cousin. The girl is currently under treatment and undergoing rounds of psychosis tests.

API Ganesh Jadhav also said that these kinds of cases are rare in Navi Mumbai, and the last reported case was 4 years ago. Further investigations are being conducted by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Turbhe Division) Gajanan Rathod. The incident has raised concerns about the need for better sex education in the country.