RailEnquiry

CHENNAI: A baby girl rescued before her mother could dump her out of a suburban train had to be rescued a second time in a week, with police on Monday taking custody of the infant after receiving a complaint that an NGO was planning to sell the child.Egmore railway police took the baby from Human Rights Organisation, a private NGO near Tambaram, and handed her over to an orphanage. A volunteer with the organisation rescued the child from her mother on a suburban train last Tuesday.DSP Thillai Natarajan said that they received complaints that the NGO was demanding money from people who wanted to adopt the child. "We have handed over the child to an orphanage in Teynampet and will later proceed with other formalities," he said.Human Rights Organisation administrative secretary A B Kalpana denied allegations that the NGO was trying to sell the baby. "We were to hand over the child to welfare officers after giving her first aid," she said.Police said they had received complaints that members of the NGO were trying to sell the baby to a jeweller for Rs 15 lakh.Police officers are investigating to determine if the NGO had rescued any other children in similar manner.The baby's mother, Chandra (name changed), had declared in writing that she would not stake any claim to the child in the future, after which members of the NGO admitted her to a government hospital for a tubectomy.

Soon after giving birth to the girl on Tuesday, Chandra, 36, packed up the baby in a polythene carry bag. She boarded a train from Ulundurpet and was caught by a policeman, who had been alerted by the NGO volunteer, near Chengalpattu. She reportedly confessed that she was planning to abandon the child.

Members of the NGO named the child Krishnaveni. Volunteers with the NGO later said three actors and a politician had expressed interest in adopting the child.