Couple abandon child, forge baby's death certificate to save marriage

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The Pune police on Thursday arrested a couple for abandoning their 3-month-old child at a church and informing their family that the child had died. Police officials said that the couple, parents of a 5-year-old child who are well educated were bailed out on the same day by the court.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, the incident came to light when a passer-by found the baby near a church in Khadki on Tuesday early morning and handed it over to the police.

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Senior police inspector Rajendra Sahane of Khadki police station said, "The man is an engineer and the wife is a housewife. They have been married for seven years, but they had differences and were separated for a while. Last year, they came back together and the wife got pregnant around the same time and delivered a baby in August. But he had doubts and gave her the option of either leaving him or abandoning the child. She chose to abandon the baby."

The woman and her husband had differences and the husband had doubts about the biological father of the child, a police officer said. The differences between the two led the couple to decide that the child should be abandoned in order to save their marriage.

"I saw the baby's uncle's social media post as he was an acquaintance. Another friend's wife saw the child and brought it to my notice and in turn to the police. The sweating had drenched the baby's clothes completely and it was shivering. Only a small part of the zip covering it's body was open. At night itself, I had called the acquaintance and told him that the baby he mentioned in his social media post has been found. He was shocked and said that it was his sister's baby and that a funeral was held for him," Litesh Tinku Das (28), a resident of Mula road and a social worker said.

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The abandoned baby, who is now in the custody of the police is being treated at the Sassoon General Hospital. The Pune police are looking for legal recourse for the baby. The couple may also face charges for forging the baby's death certificate, an officer said.

The Khadki police station registered a case under Section 317 (exposure and abandonment of child under twelve years, by parent or person having care of it) of the Indian Penal Code.

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