Uncle, mother held for trying to get rid of baby

BALLARI

: Hosapete Rural police arrested

Mallamma

, 24, and her elder brother Shivappa, 27, from Kinnahal village of Koppal on Tuesday night and they were sent to judicial custody for their attempt to bury a baby girl alive.
Police said when the unmarried Mallamma realized she was preg nant, she informed her brother about it. They made several attempts to abort the foetus but failed. When the delivery date was near, they went to a private hospital in Hosapete last week. At the time of admission, they claimed they were residents of Ginigera of Koppal district.

After a baby girl was born, they got discharged against the doctor's advice. They planned to abandon the child but failed. Shivappa covered the baby in a cloth and kept her in a carton. He went to a nearby autorickshaw stand and sought the drivers' help to bury the baby. H Ramesh, an auto driver, took him to the graveyard and helped Shivappa dig a grave. Before placing the box inside, he got a call from another driver Krishnamurthy, who had doubts about Shivappa's story .

Ramesh opened the carton and was shocked to see the baby alive.He caught Shivappa and brought him to the same hospital where she was born. Auto drivers sought treatment of the baby to which the hospital agreed. When hospital authorities couldn't find Shivappa, they informed Ramesh. The driver and his friends filed a complaint at Hosapete Rural police station. Police collected security footage from the hospital and looked for

Sivappa

at Genigera. They also went to Kinnahal where they found him and Mallamma.

Sources said the baby is with the district child protection unit in Ballari and is healthy and active.