CHENNAI: A 21-year-old college student has been booked by the Kotturpuram police for allegedly attempting to abandon his newborn son at a city government hospital. He has been charged under Section 93 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a police source said.
The student is a native of Ooty and was in a relationship with a girl who was doing her master’s degree at a private college in Taramani. He arrived at the Government Omandurar Hospital around 1.30 am on Sunday, carrying an infant in a jute bag. He told hospital staff that he had found the baby near the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital in Triplicane. However, the staff grew suspicious and alerted the police.
Police officers checked the CCTV footage from the area and could not find anyone abandoning the child in the spot as claimed by the man but showed him walking with the bag. When questioned, he admitted the baby was his, born the previous day to his girlfriend. She is a native of Salem. The two were in a relationship for the past few years.
Investigations revealed she had delivered the baby alone in her hostel washroom and handed it over to the man. The newborn, said to be underweight, is receiving incubator care at Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. The police have informed both their families. A written undertaking was given by the man to the police saying he will take care of the child.