JOWAI: In a heart-wrenching incident, a newborn male baby, who was apparently unwanted and left to die in a toilet pit, was rescued by villagers at Lad-Mukhla village in Jaintia Hills district on Wednesday afternoon.
Lad-Mukhla headman Ebormi Lyngdoh and village secretary Hamran D Shylla informed that baby was rescued from the toilet pit in the house of one L Rymbai and was immediately rushed to Ummulong CHC and later referred to Dr Norman Tunnel Hospital in Jowai for treatment.
“Rymbai informed us that when he went to the toilet he heard the baby crying. He immediately called his wife and others and with their help the baby was rescued from the pit,” the headman informed.
“The baby was put inside a black polythene bag and dumped into the pit. As soon as we rescued the baby from the toilet pit, we cut the umbilical cord and bathed the baby before rushing him to the CHC,” Rymbai’s family informed.
Nurses, who were attending to the baby in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Dr Norman Tunnel Hospital, later stated that the baby’s condition was okay.
Police later arrested one Patricia Rynjah (18) originally hailing from Smit in East Khasi Hills and presently residing at Lad-Mukhla along with her sister. Rynjah a student of Class X of Lissi Pearl Secondary School, Khliehtyrshi was first apprehended by the villagers on suspicion and later handed over to Jowai Police for interrogation.
During the course of the interrogation, the girl denied having committed the heinous crime. However, medical examination of the girl revealed that she had given birth a few hours earlier.
Further investigation is on in this connection.