Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Jajpur, Mar 28:

Police today arrested one Ramesh Basantia, father of the newborn girl who was found buried alive in a garbage dump in Shyamsundarpur village under Jenapur police station limits in Dharmashala block in Odisha’s Jajpur district on March 25, informed Jajpur SP Anup Sahu.

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While Ramesh has confessed to have buried the newborn in the garbage dump near his house nearly two hours after his wife delivered the child at their home, he is being further interrogated to ascertain the reason behind his taking such a cruel and inhuman step, Sahu added.

"We have arrested Ramesh Basantia of Shyamsundarpur. We have evidence of his involvement in this incident. He had dumped the newborn child in the garbage dump two hours after her birth," Sahu told reporters addressing a press conference here.

Local sources said Ramesh is a driver by profession and has four children-two boys and two girls prior to the birth of the baby girl.

Earlier, he had aborted many pregnancies of his wife and had even attempted to abort the baby girl though he had failed. So after her birth at 5 am in his home on March 25 he had a spat with his wife and two hours later had buried the newborn in the garbage dump near their house, sources added.

Since Ramesh’s house is located in an isolated place, villagers didn’t get an inkling of his brutal act, they said.

On March 25 when villagers heard the baby’s shrill cry near a field which led them to garbage dump where they spotted feet above the ground. They dug the earth to find the baby buried upside down with a piece of cloth wrapped around.

The infant was first rushed to the nearby Community Health Centre (CHC) and later admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital.

The District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) had filed a complaint with the Jenapur police following which a case under section 307 and 317 of IPC was registered.