Woman saves infant injured in road accident

Mangaluru: A compassionate woman, carried an infant close to her chest and travelled throughout Puttur city to get a scan done. Despite having no relation to the baby, social worker Chandra Prabha Gowda took the child in an ambulance to two hospitals and a scanning centre. Chandra Prabha ensured that the three-month-old—Rinha Fathima—who sustained injuries, received treatment on time, as her parents were also injured in an accident that took place at Parpunja in Sullia taluk.Thajuddin Tarly, the driver of the ambulance, said that he rushed to the private hospital in Sampya after receiving information about a horrific accident reported at Parpunja near Sampya around 4.30 pm on Saturday. "A woman carrying the infant close to her chest sat in my ambulance and asked me to take the child for a scan. Initially, I took the ambulance from Sampya to the govt hospital in Puttur. However, the scanning facility was not available at the hospital. Hence, we took the infant to a private hospital in Puttur. Since the radiologist was not available, we had to take her to a diagnostic centre near Puttur bypass to get the scan done. All this while, I was under the impression that the woman was the mother of the baby. However, later I realised that she was not related to the infant," he said.In fact, Chandra Prabha Gowda, the president of the Puttur Taluk Mahila Congress, was helping the family of the child. Haneef, an autorickshaw driver from Bannur, was travelling in his vehicle with his wife, two daughters (including the infant), and mother-in-law, when the accident took place at Parpunja. His mother-in-law and daughter died in the accident, while his wife sustained severe injuries. Seeing the condition of Rinha and on the doctor's advice, Chandra Prabha took the child in his ambulance to get a scan done, Thajuddin explained.Rinha is recovering at the private hospital in Sampya. Chandra Prabha fed Rinha milk on the way in the ambulance, and paid the bills at the scanning centre too. She also took care of the infant like a mother, till she was handed over to relatives at 10 pm, he added.