Woman arrested for killing newborn, police say she feared social stigma

According to police, the matter came to light on July 28, when a woman reported to the police control room that her house help had thrown a plastic bag, which appeared to contain the body of a newborn, in the garbage

A 26-year-old woman was arrested on Thursday for allegedly killing her newborn son, reportedly out of fear of the social stigma attached to having a child outside of marriage, police said. The woman, who is divorced, gave birth alone in the washroom of a Patel Nagar home where she worked as domestic help, senior officers said.

The house owner told the police that the help originally hailed from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh but lived locally. When the police visited her residence, she reportedly admitted that the baby was hers. (Representational image)

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Nidhin Valsan confirmed the incident but declined to share further details.

According to police, the matter came to light on July 28, when a woman reported to the police control room that her house help had thrown a plastic bag, which appeared to contain the body of a newborn, in the garbage.

When a police team reached the Patel Nagar residence, they found the caller in the ground floor parking area, next to a white plastic bag in which the body of a baby boy had been placed. A crime team was called, and after inspecting the spot, the body was sent to the mortuary for autopsy.

The house owner told the police that the help originally hailed from Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh but lived locally. When the police visited her residence, she reportedly admitted that the baby was hers.

During questioning, the woman allegedly told police that she had been working at the Patel Nagar house since October 2023. She said she was married in 2019 but divorced in 2021. In November 2024, while attending a wedding in her village, she met her former partner and they resumed a brief relationship. On November 25, she returned to Delhi and about three months later, she discovered that she was expecting a baby

She told police that when she informed the child’s father, he refused to support her. “By then, she said it was too late to seek a medical termination. She was conflicted about whether to continue with the pregnancy or end it, but ultimately carried it to term,” an officer said.

Eight months pregnant, the woman said she still did not show owing to her build and she decided to kill the baby after birth, police said. “On July 27, while the house owner and their family were away at a party, she gave birth in the bathroom. She then allegedly strangled the baby with a piece of cloth and placed the body in a plastic bag, which she left in the building’s dustbin,” said the officer.

The following day, the garbage collector discovered the body and alerted the house owner, who informed the police.

A post-mortem was conducted, and on July 31, doctors reported that the infant had died due to “the cumulative effect of ante-mortem craniocerebral injuries and ligature strangulation, which are sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.”

Based on legal opinion, police registered a case under sections 103(1) and 238(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Patel Nagar police station. The woman was taken into custody. In the interim, she had been placed in a women’s shelter to prevent her from fleeing while the investigation was under way.