3-Year-Old Girl Rescued After Spending 2 Days Near Dead Mother's Body

The police in India have rescued a 3-year-old girl found near her dead mother's body inside a rented house. The child had no clue her mother was dead, and presumed she was "just sleeping."

The shocking incident happened in the state of Odisha on Monday, reported The Times of India. The woman, identified as 28-year-old Kuni Nayak, had been living with her child in the one-room house in Balangir district. She was reportedly a widow.

The police were alerted by neighbors who noticed a foul stench emanating from the house. On arrival, the officers found the decomposed body of the woman inside the house.

The officers also noticed the child had not eaten anything for two days. Reports said the child told the officers that her "mother had been sleeping for the last two days."

"She did not give me food and continued sleeping," the child told the officers.

The police said Nayak had been living in the house for the past three years since the child was born. She had been working as a domestic maid at several households in the locality. The woman was reportedly not close to her relatives or in-laws.

"After the neighbor informed us, we recovered the body, which has been sent for post mortem. Preliminary medical reports suggested the woman died of suspected liver ailment," said senior police official Tofan Bag told The Times of India.

The police tried to look for the woman’s relatives, but found none. So, it was decided to hand over the child to the Child Welfare Committee, which will decide on the girl's future.

A similar incident was reported from Kentucky wherein a baby was found chewing on his hand on top of his mother's decomposing body. The child's mother reportedly died from a drug overdose in August. Danielle Ward was dead for days before her remains were found by the Louisville police. The child was rushed to the hospital, and was said to be in a stable condition, despite being dehydrated. "God is involved. It’s very miraculous. He ate his hand raw. [He was] in there for days without survival techniques," Danielle's mother Adriane Ward was quoted by reporters.