How mantra of ‘help thy neighbour’ landed Bengaluru man in police station
Unsuspecting neighbour gets rid of stillborn baby in trash bag; statement helps police uncover POCSO case and arrest auto driver for impregnating minor
Meeting an innocuous request from a young neighbour to dump a plastic bag in the garbage dump landed a man in Bengaluru’s Yelahanka in police custody — until the truth emerged.
Unknowingly, he had dumped the bag, containing a stillborn baby, which was caught on CCTV camera. His statement finally led the police to the mother — a 17-year-old girl — and the arrest of an autorickshaw driver under the POCSO Act for impregnating a minor.
Also Read: Taunted as ‘failed’ mother over baby’s fall, techie dies in suspected suicide
Favour turns trouble
The incident came to light when police were alerted about a baby boy found in a plastic bag in a garbage pile in Yelahanka.
Police found CCTV footage of a man disposing of the bag and tracked him down. The man, trying to help his neighbour, threw away what he believed was a routine trash bag.
Caught completely off guard, he insisted he had no idea what was inside the bag. According to police, the man was simply responding to a young girl’s urgent request to dispose of the bag. He was later released after the facts emerged.
Also Read: Baby girl dies in US after mother mistakenly puts her in oven instead of crib
Minor’s confession
The man led the police to the 17-year-old girl, a vegetable vendor, who confessed that she was the mother of the stillborn. She revealed that she had been in a relationship with an auto rickshaw driver from the same locality.
Also Read: Newborn dies as mother gives birth at UP hospital gate after being turned away
She became pregnant and managed to conceal the pregnancy from her parents, who are labourers. In her eighth month, she went into labour and, with the help of a friend, delivered the baby at home.
However, the baby died in the process. The girl then packed the baby in a plastic bag and requested her neighbour to throw it near a dumpyard, without disclosing what was inside.
Upon her confession, police arrested the auto rickshaw driver under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for impregnating a minor girl.