Body of newborn recovered from Dum Dum canal

Local resident rescued the body of a newborn baby from a canal at Dum Dum on Wednesday morning. The local residents spotted the body lying in the canal.

Later, police recovered the body from there and took the body to hospital. The hospital authority declared the baby lifeless. “The baby was around a month old. We received only a lifeless body of the baby,” said a doctor of the hospital.

However, the police started an investigation. “We are investigating if there is any child trafficking racket operating here. Getting a body of a newborn has planted seeds of suspicion in our minds,” said an investigating officer.

It should be recalled that the police had made several arrested in recent child trafficking cases in the state. Many people and some doctors were arrested in North and South 24 Parganas in child trafficking cases.

In the most recent event, ten babies were rescued lying on a sheet in the ground in a charitable home for the mentally disabled and the elderly. This home is located in Behala, in the district of South 24 Parganas.

Skeletons of two children were also found at the premises of the office of the same charitable trust that runs the home. This is the second such raid after the one last week at a nursing home close to Kolkata, where three newborn babies were discovered.

Foreign currency was also recovered from this operation. Local authorities have shared that the people who have been arrested so far includes the owners of clinics, midwives, assistants, doctors, charitable organisations, as well as court officials who have been accused of forging documentation for the babies to be put up for adoption or sale.

“This body of the newborn at Dum Dum is probably not any separate incident. The area was under close watch since those children trafficking incidents were uncovered. We believe some people of that area may be involved in child trafficking,” said the police officer.