Navi Mumbai: On Monday afternoon, a woman abandoned her 15-day-old baby with a commuter in a CSMT-Panvel local train, fleeing under the pretext of being unable to get down with her luggage. The incident occurred at Seawoods railway station on the Harbour line. Vashi Railway Police have registered a case against the unidentified woman and have launched a search to trace her.
Divya Naidu (19), a Mumbai resident, boarded the local train from CSMT to Juinagar around 11 am along with her friend Bhoomika Mane. Around 12 pm, as the train passed Sanpada station, the two friends moved towards the door to get down at Juinagar. In the same compartment, there was an unknown woman aged between 30 to 35, seated with three bags and holding a baby.
The woman told Naidu and Mane that she would be getting off at Seawoods station but due to her luggage, she would not be able to get down with the baby on her own. She requested their help to accompany her till Seawoods.
Wanting to help, they both agreed and got off at Seawoods with the baby. However, to their shock, the woman did not get down and remained on the train, looking at them as it moved ahead. Hoping she would return, the two young women waited at the station for a long time, but when the woman did not come back, they took the baby to Mane’s house in Juinagar and took care of it.
Later, acting on the advice of their family members, they approached Vashi Railway Police and reported the incident.
Based on their complaint, a case has been registered under Section 93 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the unknown woman for abandoning the infant. Senior Police Inspector Kiran Undre of Vashi Railway Police Station confirmed the registration of the case and said that CCTV footage is being reviewed to identify and trace the woman.
The baby has been admitted to a hospital's intensive care unit for observation. Inspector Undre also appealed to the public to come forward with any information about the woman who abandoned the baby. "As per the footage, the lady got down at Khandeshwar and we are investigating further," Undre said.
