Cuttack, Feb. 5: Government Railway Police (GRP) rescued a newborn girl child, allegedly abandoned by her parents at Cuttack railway station today.

A sweeper spotted the baby, who is not more than 20 days old, at one of the toilet blocks in the second-class waiting hall for women passengers at the station.

It is suspected that the parents deserted the child because of financial trouble or any congenital problems that the baby might have. As there were minor bruises near the baby's eyelids, she was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

"I had come to clean the washroom around 8am when I noticed the baby girl in the toilet and immediately reported the matter to the station master as there was nobody inside the waiting hall at that point of time," said Bulu Nayak, the sweeper.

Station master Bimal Kumar said since the girl had suffered bruises and blood was oozing out from near her eyelids, GRP officials immediately rushed her to the hospital.

The members of the Childline, a voluntary organisation that works for children in distress, said that steps would be taken for the rehabilitation of the baby once she was discharged from SCB hospital.

"We received the call around 8.30am and by that time, the GRP had already admitted the baby to the hospital," said Narayan Shukla, district coordinator of Childline.

Senior officials of Railway Protection Force (RPF) said footage of the close circuit television (CCTV) cameras would be reviewed to find evidence regarding those who had abandoned the baby.

"As the corridor near the women's waiting hall is a restricted zone, no CCTV camera has been installed in and around it. We will examine footage of other cameras that may have recorded something," said S.K. Das, RPF officer-in-charge.

Das said 24 CCTV cameras had been installed at Cuttack station to beef up security.

This is for the second time that a newborn girl has been abandoned at the Cuttack railway station. On November 5, 2011, two baby girls were recovered from inside a cartoon on platform No. 1.Both the babies were packed in a carton and were dumped near a pile of consignment boxes under a luggage trolley.

Two days later, another 15-day-old baby was recovered near a dustbin in front of Archaya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC).

"The rising incident of baby girls being abandoned is a matter of concern for the society. Adequate steps should be taken to bring in a change in the mindset of people so that a healthy atmosphere is provided to girls in the society," said Namita Panda, former chairperson of the State Commission for Women.