The just-born was found dumped on the footpath at Basavanagudi by a passer by nearly three weeks ago. Representational Image
The just-born was found dumped on the footpath at Basavanagudi by a passer by nearly three weeks ago. Representational Image
An abandoned newborn was nursed back to normalcy at a city hospital, thanks to an alert member of public and a cop who went beyond his call of duty.
The just-born was found dumped on the footpath at Basavanagudi by a passer by nearly three weeks ago. The man, who had gotten off his bike to relieve himself, saw the wailing infant in the wee hours of the morning, took it home and then handed it over to Basavanagudi police.
Noticing the baby's struggle to breathe, police inspector Shahshidhar got it admitted to the Cloudnine Children's Hospital. "Observing the baby's condition, we admitted it sidestepping all formalities, despite this being a medico-legal case," said Dr Kishore Kumar, who treated the baby.
"We admitted the baby in emergency care, since it was battling for life. The baby had been abandoned on the day of its birth," the doctor added.
Inspector Shashidhar, who paid the admission fees out of his pocket, was willing to bear the baby's entire treatment cost. But one of the hospital members, Nirmala Murthy, suggested to start a crowdfunding campaign for the baby as his treatment was running into lakhs.
"I wanted to pay for the baby's treatment irrespective of the cost, since this hospital had overlooked the formalities and provided quality treatment to save her life," Shashidhar, who admitted the baby with the help of sub-inspector Pavitra, said.
The campaign on Milaap, an online crowdfunding platform, raised Rs 4 lakh which was used for the baby's treatment.
The infant was handed to Shishu Vihar in Adugodi in a healthy condition with police's help after 23 days of medical care.