In a significant development in the case of a 15-day-old baby abandoned in a CSMT-Panvel local train, the Vashi Government Railway Police (GRP) have traced the movements of the unidentified woman who left the infant with fellow commuters under the pretext of needing help with her luggage.
According to Senior Police Inspector Kiran Undre of Vashi GRP, CCTV footage has confirmed that the woman boarded the local train at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) after alighting from an express train. “She got down from an express train before boarding the local, which indicates that she may have come from another state. We are now working on identifying the train she arrived by and tracing her movements from there,” Undre said.
The incident, which took place on June 30, came to light when two young commuters—Divya Naidu (19) and her friend Bhoomika Mane—were approached by the woman while travelling in the local train towards Juinagar. The woman, appearing to be between 30 and 35 years old, claimed she would be getting off at Seawoods station but said she was unable to manage her luggage and the baby alone. She asked the girls to help carry the infant.
Naidu and Mane agreed and alighted at Seawoods with the baby, only to realise moments later that the woman had not gotten off the train. She remained on board and continued to watch them as the train moved on. After waiting for her to return and realising they had been misled, the two girls took the baby to Mane’s residence in Juinagar and later approached the Vashi Railway Police.
A case was registered under Section 93 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for abandonment of a child, and the baby was admitted to a hospital’s intensive care unit for observation.
Inspector Undre said the woman was last seen getting off at Khandeshwar station, based on further CCTV analysis. Police are now coordinating with railway authorities and state agencies to determine the woman’s identity and her place of origin.
Authorities have also appealed to the public for any leads or information that could assist in the investigation.
