Lockdown forces ‘struggling couple’ to abandon newborn

Sastri Nagar police received information that a male child has been abandoned near a church on the fifth street of Padmanabha Nagar and sub-inspector Vimala and team rescued the child lying underneath a parked car.

The baby was properly dressed, with a diaper on, and a letter was also found in its dress. Written on a piece of paper in red ink, the letter, in clear Tamil, begins with an apology and goes on to say that its ‘parent’ could not take care of the child for want of money. “I’m struggling to feed myself daily. Please take care of my child... Kindly inform the priest in the nearby church to keep the child safe. Give it to some childless couple and forgive me,” says the letter, with no reference to who wrote it.

Sastri Nagar police informed the Childline and volunteers from Don Bosco Anbu Illam reached the station and received the child on Monday evening. The baby is said to be doing fine and Sastri Nagar police are collecting the CCTV footage to identify the child’s parents.