Rajkot, August 05: In Amreli, an 11-day-old baby spent nearly 24 hours without any food or protection after being abandoned in an open field. Later, she was spotted by some agricultural labourers, who rushed her to the Amreli Civil Hospital on Monday.
The girl’s parents, Ramesh and Rayeni Bhuriya, also agricultural labourers, believe she is a witch who would kill all in the family.
On Tuesday, the baby, already weak without any food and water, was put on drip, while the police are trying to counsel her parents to take her back.
According to the hospital records, the baby was brought by a 108 ambulance on Monday afternoon. Couple of men had also come along. Some labourers working in the field of Mukesh Vinchiyan had found the baby after hearing her cries. Later, they called the ambulance.
Upon inquiry, the police found that Jeysingh, one of the persons who came in the ambulance, was the elder brother of Ramesh. But as the family wanted to get rid of the baby, Jeysingh maintained that he did not know the child, said police.
“The baby is still in the hospital. The police have convinced the family to take her back,” said Sandeep Singh, Superintendent of Police, Amreli.
According to the reports, the parents told police the girl’s behaviour was “suspicious”. They said the infant would bite her mother while being fed, and also alleged the girl grew faster at nights and threw stones at them.
The girl’s parents, who belong to Bhabhara village of MP, said they grew suspicious of the baby being a witch and believed that she would soon kill all the family members.
The couple has a three-year-old son, and had lost two children earlier soon after their birth. The girl is their fourth child.
The mother also denied any gender bias towards the infant. She only said the baby’s ‘weird’ behaviour scared them.
–Agencies