200 newborns abandoned in nullahs or children’s home cribs every year in Maharashtra

Publication date: 10 September 2019

MUMBAI: Every year, roughly 207 newly born children are abandoned (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/abandoned) in

nullahs or cribs outside children’s homes across Maharashtra (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/maharashtra).

(https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/NCRB))’s latest report shows Maharashtra led other states in the number of

abandoned newborns (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/newborns) between 2011 and 2017. Maharashtra reported

seven times the number of abandonments in Madhya Pradesh, which had 206 cases in seven years.

The NCRB report shows Maharashtra recorded 1,451 cases of abandoned newborns between 2011 and 2017 while Mumbai

registered 28 such cases from 2015 to 2017.

Rajasthan is placed second with 1,072 cases, Gujarat 686 and Karnataka 598 during the seven-year period.

The main reasons for abandonment include socio-economic causes and children born out of the wedlock, say experts.

Maharashtra recorded maximum abandonment cases in 2013 at 259 and the lowest in 2017 at 164, which shows a decline over

the years.

For the offence, the mother or both parents are booked under Indian Penal Code Section 317 for exposure and abandonment

of a child aged under 12 years.

A senior police officer said more girls than boys are likely to be abandoned, aborted or killed. This is rooted in the cultural bias

against girls. Vatsalya Trust trustee Shrikant Joshi said, “Maharashtra at least has a system of recording such crimes and these

numbers are telling. But we fear the numbers could be higher.”

Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Ashok Pranay said, “The cases and reasons vary in urban and rural areas. In urban areas,

they could be socio-economic. While in rural areas, it could be the girl child issue.” Investigators said while child abandonment

in rural areas happens due to poverty, out-of-wedlock births are more common in cities such as Mumbai.

Former state director-general of police Pravin Dixit said abandonment cases and even foeticide could be checked using tools

such as Aadhar card. “It is necessary to record the DNA of every person in his Aadhar, which should be made compulsory.

Once this is achieved, tracing parents and fixing responsibility would be an achievable goal.”

Dixit said, “Adoption policy needs to be tough as instances have come to light where adopted children have been used for

objectionable activities, including terrorism.’’ A senior police officer said, “Probe of cases of newborns abandoned, foeticide

and infanticide are given top priority.”

In August 2015, the metropolitan magistrate court convicted a female newborn’s parents for abandoning her in hospital and

sentenced them to one-year jail and fined them Rs 25,000.

In September 2015, Borivli police arrested a woman for dumping her female foetus.

hadge said the abandonment statistics are “unfortunate” but most of Maharashtra’s population is still

socially and economically backward. “No mother will part with her baby unless there are serious social pressures on her, mainly

to bear a male child or pregnancy outside marriage. The government should focus on dealing with social issues rather than

punish the mother. Individuals who force or pressurize a mother to abandon her baby should be punished instead of targeting

her,” said Ghadge

Countries: India