Ahmedabad: A 35-year-old mother abandoned her newborn girl at the Dhandhuka railway station on Oct 28.
Surveillance footage captured the woman leaving the infant, wrapped in a tattered dupatta, at the station.
Dhandhuka railway police identified and interrogated the woman on Thursday.
Authorities found out that she and her husband, who work as daily wage labourers, already had three daughters and desired a male child.
Upon delivering another girl, the mother made the difficult decision to leave the infant at the station.
Inspector Ramesh Gojia of Dhandhuka police said, "The couple, originally from Madhya Pradesh, had been working in various parts of Gujarat as migrant labourers."
They had recently arrived in Dhandhuka about two months ago and were staying near the railway station when the woman went into labour on the night of Oct 27.
According to a railway police officer involved in the investigation, both the husband and wife were distressed upon learning that their fourth baby was also a daughter.
The husband often scolded and taunted his wife, leading her to take their three other young daughters to the railway station and abandon the newborn in a garbage bin there, according to the officer.
She believed someone would find and care for the child.
A railway stall owner discovered the infant while disposing of garbage and promptly informed police.
Medical staff from a govt hospital in Dhandhuka examined the girl and found her to be in good health.
The authorities used CCTV footage to trace the mother, who was then counselled before the newborn was returned to her.
The case was transferred to railway police, and ultimately no formal complaint was filed.