RailEnquiry

BHUBANESWAR: High drama unfolded at the Bhubaneswar railway station after an infant was found abandoned for hours together in the waiting hall. The child's mother later appeared and said she failed to get down from a train, which she had boarded to use the toilet"Since the toilet on the platform was packed, I boarded the train. But the train left. The train stopped at Cuttack from where I returned with much difficulty," said Anusaya Panigrahi, who was reunited with her four-month-old daughter after seven hours.The 26-year-old woman of Jajpur district had fled her in-law's house three days ago following family dispute.She had married Satya Ranjan Panigrahi, small-time trader of Jajpur, two years ago. "There might have been some martial discord. We are in touch with her family," a railway police officer said.But before Anusaya returned to the Bhubaneswar station, hundreds of people had gathered around the abandoned child who was inconsolable. A feeding bottle and bag were lying near the child.The government railway police had informed the ChildLine, a voluntary organization, and handed over the baby to its volunteers."We waited for several hours and asked the people waiting in the hall. When she did not turn up, we lodged a report in the police station and rescued the baby," said ChildLine volunteer Pratima Satpathy.

"Around 12.30 pm the weeping woman approached our office and narrated her plight. The child was produced before the child welfare committee. We are counseling the woman," Satpathy said.