Infant’s body found floating in Basti Bawa Khel drain

A four to five months old infant’s body was found floating in Basti Bawa Khel drain this afternoon. Panic spread in the Basti Bawa Khel area after the body was found. Earlier it was speculated that the child was abandoned by his mother. However, the police said there was no foul play behind the incident. The police said a poor family, including child’s mother, had as per their traditional ritual immersed body in drain after the infant’s death.

The child’s body was seen floating in the drain around 12.30 this afternoon. The police retrieved the body and traced mother of the child who was questioned.

While speaking to The Tribune, Baljinder Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Basti Bawa Khel police station, said, “The child’s mother originally hails from Nepal. She stays at Mithu Basti in Jalandhar. She is a poor domestic help and the family has very less earnings.”

The SHO further said, “The family did not even have money to perform the last rites of the child. The woman said the child (a baby boy) was sick for the past four to five days after which he died. The family said as per traditional norms, they immersed the child’s corpse in the water body.”

The SHO said the child was not unwanted and died due to sickness.