Teen gives birth to stillborn in public toilet, dumps it

A 19-year-old woman, Suvarna Kanekar, gave birth to a stillborn baby in a public toilet in Andheri (W). She later tried to flush the baby. As she heard people approaching, she ran away without flushing the stillborn. Amboli police have arrested Kanekar and booked her under relevant IPC sections.

Sources said Kanekar, a Ratnagiri resident, had come to Mumbai to visit her uncle at Mhatarpada, Andheri (W) on December 1. Police said Kanekar, a thin teenager, suddenly seemed healthy to her uncle, who however, refrained from commenting about her sudden weight gain. She spent a day with her uncle’s family and left for an unknown place at night. The family did not know of her whereabouts after that day. Early on December 3, Kanekar went to a public toilet in Amboli and gave birth to a stillborn baby girl. She panicked and dumped her baby in the toilet hole. Before she could flush the infant out, Kanekar heard people approaching and ran away.

Police said when the locals saw the horrifying scene, they chased Kanekar and caught her. They alerted the police and handed her over to them. Police arrested her and booked her for concealing the birth and secret disposal of a dead body (sec 318 of IPC). The baby’s body was sent to the Cooper Hospital for postmortem.

Kanekar confessed to the crime, saying she was afraid of society, as she was unmarried. Police caught her lie through the statement she recorded. Bharat Gaikwad, senior inspector of Amboli police station, said, “Kanekar claimed she was not aware of her pregnancy. She has been kept under observation to help her overcome the trauma. She is medically unfit for questioning, is in a shock.”

The Kanekar family were questioned by police to ascertain their role in this crime.