The body of a newborn boy was recovered from a pond in Godhola village of Punhana on Friday evening, police said on Saturday. They said the body was first spotted by a villager who alerted Mohammad Asad, a fisherman who had taken the pond on lease, and the police control room.
Police officials said the body was taken out and sent for an autopsy, which will confirm whether the infant drowned after being deliberately thrown into the water. Inspector Rajesh Kumar, station house officer of the City Punhana police station, said that preliminary inspection indicated the child was born in a hospital. “It seems that the boy had taken birth in a hospital, as a clip was attached to the umbilical cord, which is fixed after birth,” he said, adding that it “clearly seems to be a case of disposing of an unwanted child.”
Kumar added that forensic experts who examined the spot said the body appeared to be at least two days old and had likely floated to the surface after decomposition began. “Looking at the scenario, there is a strong possibility that the infant was alive and was later thrown in the waterbody, following which he drowned, as probably the mother wanted to get rid of it,” he said.
The inspector said that police have begun contacting nearby hospitals to obtain details of male child births in the past few days. “We are also gathering information about any woman who was pregnant but is presently traceless for clues,” he said.
Investigators said the body will be preserved for 72 hours as per rule for identification before the post-mortem is conducted. A diatom test will determine if the child was alive before drowning, though the forensic report may take time to arrive.
On the complaint of a villager, an FIR has been registered against an unidentified woman under Section 94 (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the City Punhana police station.