In Burhanpur district of Madhya Pradesh, a newborn girl survived after a teenage mother allegedly threw her child from the first floor of the district hospital. The incident, reported on September 29, has drawn attention to issues of maternal care, stigma, and the vulnerability of newborns in institutional settings.
Local police said that the unmarried mother, under social pressure, may have attempted to abandon the infant soon after birth. The baby, though injured, survived and is receiving medical treatment in a hospital under police supervision.
Authorities initiated a medico-legal investigation, and the mother is in custody.
Hospital staff reported that the infant was found after cries alerted them. The newborn had fallen from an internal balcony, which constituted the first floor of the hospital building. The hospital has been cooperating with police in collecting CCTV footage and statements.
India has laws designed to protect children, such as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and state juvenile justice standards but enforcement and awareness remain inconsistent. Institutional delivery and postnatal care programs under national health missions aim to reduce neonatal mortality, but these programs may not fully address extreme cases of abandonment or violence.
In this case, police have registered POCSO case against the 19-year-old man who impregnated the 16-year-old teenager that led to the pregnancy.
(Rh/Eth/TL/MSM)