Unwed Mother Throws Her Premature Baby Out Of Hospital Window; Arrested

A 22-year-old woman, who allegedly threw her newborn baby out of the hospital window because she didn't want to be an unwed mother, has been charged with murder. The child, born prematurely, died at the scene.

Police arrested the woman and her boyfriend in connection with the incident that happened in the Indian state of Karnataka on Tuesday, reported The Hindu.

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, got admitted to a private hospital in the town of Hesaraghatta on Tuesday. She delivered the premature baby hours later and both the mother and child were kept under observation.

However, a few hours later, the woman allegedly went into the washroom with the baby and flung it outside through the bathroom window. Passersby noticed the child falling and rushed to check on it. However, the baby had died in the impact. The people who saw her fleeing the hospital premises gave chase and detained her, reported The New Indian Express.

After being alerted about the incident, the police immediately arrested the woman. Officers also waited for her boyfriend to return to the hospital to detain him on charges of abetting a crime. He reportedly confessed that they didn't want to keep the baby as they were unmarried.

Police identified the father of the deceased's child as Shashank, 27. The arrests were made on a complaint filed by the hospital staff.

While the child's body has been sent for an autopsy, the mother has been transferred to a government hospital after she developed post-delivery complications.

"We are waiting for the woman to be discharged from the hospital to take her into custody. She told doctors that she was afraid of how society would treat an unwed mother, and couldn’t face her parents," an officer told The New Indian Express.

In a similar incident, a 16-year-old girl was arrested in the Indian state of Maharastra on Tuesday after she threw her newborn out of the toilet window right after giving birth. The child's body was found on a ventilation duct with severe head and shoulder injuries. Police said the girl was living with her parents, who had no clue about the child's birth. She is said to have hidden her pregnancy by wearing loose clothes. Her boyfriend was also taken into custody.