A few locals on their morning walk heard an infant’s cry from inside a bag around 5. 30 am.

 

Upon looking into the bag, they found a baby, whose umbilical cord was not properly cut. The just born, which was not able to open her eyes properly, was shivering in the cold, sources said.

 

The residents took the baby girl under their care and kept it warm by covering it in clothes. They then passed on the information to the KK Nagar police, who arrived on the spot and took custody of the baby.

The police later handed over the girl to government authorities for the ‘cradle baby scheme’ after a medical assessment in the GH. Hospital sources said the baby was healthy and doing fine.

Officials said the cradle baby scheme was first introduced in Salem district during 1992 to save the girl children.

 

In the year 2001, the scheme was extended to the districts of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul and Dharmapuri, where the practice of female infanticide was in existence.