Chennai: Neelankarai police identified the 34-year-old woman who abandoned her newborn daughter on a roadside near Chief Minister Vijay’s residence at Kapaleeswarar Nagar, Neelankarai, on Thursday. She was detained for questioning and referred for mental health counseling.
Police said she declined to take custody of the infant. Doctors said the infant was stable and receiving treatment. Police examined CCTV footage from the locality and identified the woman, who lives in the neighbourhood. As her parents refused to keep the baby, she initially considered leaving her at a nearby cremation ground. But later, she abandoned her on the roadside. Residents who were walking near the rear of the chief minister’s house on Fourth Main Road heard an infant crying and found the newborn with her umbilical cord still attached. They alerted the police, who rescued the baby and took her to a private hospital. She was later shifted to the Govt Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children in Egmore. Child Welfare Committee arranged for her care through an orphanage. Neelankarai police registered the Community Service Register (CSR) and are questioning the woman’s parents.
She reportedly delivered the baby girl at her house two days earlier.