Newborn found in Maharashtra drain in 2018 adopted by Italian couple

THANE: A newborn found abandoned in a drain in Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra’s Thane district in 2018 has been adopted by an Italian couple, said a functionary of a local organisation that rescued him and registered a police complaint at the time.

The child, with severe injuries to his head and illness due to consumption of contaminated water, was found in a drain in Vadol village on December 30 that year by Shivaji Ragade and his wife Jayshree.

They filed a complaint with police to find out who had thrown the child in the drain, though that search is yet to yield results.

An appeal for money for his treatment at Wadia Hospital in Mumbai post the trauma yielded Rs 10.42 lakh in 24 hours, Shivaji Ragade said.

“We wanted to adopt the child but could not do so due to some legal issues, so he was given in the care of Vishwa Balak Ashram. He was named Tiger due to the resolve with which the child survived despite being thrown into a drain,” Ragade said.

“The child has been adopted by an Italian couple and they flew to the European nation on Friday. It is a joyous occasion for us that Tiger has now got such a wonderful lease of life,” he said.

The child, with severe injuries to his head and illness due to consumption of contaminated water, was found in a drain in Vadol village on December 30 in 2018 by Shivaji Ragade and his wife Jayshree.

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