Date:22/06/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/06/22/stories/2007062258460400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Body of newborn found in drain

Staff Reporter

TAMBARAM: The body of a new born baby, estimated to be 7 days to 10 days old, was found floating in a stormwater drain in Chromepet on Wednesday.

Residents of Mummorthy Nagar Second Street, behind the Chromepet Government Hospital, said they noticed the body inside the stormwater drain around 9 a.m. and had no idea how the body ended up there. The drain was connected to the Veeraraghavan Lake from Grand Southern Trunk Road near the Chromepet GH through a series of drains.

As information spread, government staff came to the spot and deployed a conservancy worker to retrieve the body, which was in a highly decomposed state. Eye-witnesses said the baby’s umbilical cord was still in place, indicating that the baby must have been only about 7 or 10 days old.

Personnel at Chromepet police station said they had not received any complaint of a baby boy or girl missing. Officials of the GH said they too had not received any report.