Mumbai: Newborn found floating in sea near Bandra by auto driver and woman cop dies

MUMBAI: A barely alive newborn girl found floating in the sea near Bandra Reclamation on Friday morning was declared dead before admission by a Bandra (West) hospital.
Around 6.30am, female police constable Kalyani Naik (30) had rushed to the spot following instructions from the police control room that a baby had been spotted in the sea by an autorickshaw driver.
Bandra police later said the newborn still had the umbilical cord attached and had fish bite marks all over.
Auto driver Jafar Mansoori (26) told the police he noticed the baby while waiting for passengers at the Bandra Reclamation auto stand.
"The control room relayed the message on receiving the alert from Mansoori. Constable Naik was sent to the spot and after making inquiries, she came across Mansoori who showed her the spot where he had noticed the baby. The duo ventured into the sea and rescued the newborn baby. Naik alerted a police mobile van and they rushed the baby to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra (West) where she was declared dead on arrival," said a Bandra police officer.
Naik was to sign off from duty on Friday morning after completing her night duty when she had received the message.
Bandra police have registered a case under Indian Penal Code Section 317 for exposure and abandonment of a child against an unknown person. A police team has been formed to track down the mother who abandoned the baby into the sea immediately after birth.
There have been similar cases of abandonment of newborns in the city in the recent past. It may be recalled on September 9, a day-old baby girl was found in a garbage bin. A week later, a female cop adopted her. In August, a newborn baby girl was found in a tempo in Nalasopara. In December 2021, a just-born baby boy was found in Jogeshwari (East) wrapped in cloth by a pedestrian who informed Meghwadi police.