Bhubaneswar, Oct. 14: The Government Railway Police today found in Cuttack the woman who alleged on Thursday that goons had snatched away her three-month-old son from the railway station here.

The police found Saraswati Sahu, a native of Angul district, at Cuttack railway station. She was later produced before the district child welfare committee to prove her claim on the child.

On Saturday, the police had rescued the missing baby from a woman identified as Santoshi Behera at Nischintakoili in Cuttack district. Her brother Mitu Behera was also detained.

Inspector in charge of the Government Railway Police, Bhubaneswar, Smruti Ranjan Kar, said Mitu had claimed he found the baby near a heap of garbage at Master Canteen Square around 6am on Thursday. He took it to his house as there was no one to claim the baby. Later, he gave it to his sister, who has two girl children, to take care.

“Nischintakoili police informed us about the woman keeping the baby and we brought them here. We handed the child to a short-stay home for children,” said Kar, adding that investigation had revealed that the baby’s mother was mentally challenged and had been undergoing treatment for it.

Kar said Saraswati was divorced from her husband and led a nomadic life. She had no family and had given birth to a baby boy at Khurda railway station. She had come to Bhubaneswar recently.

After the baby went missing, the woman disappeared causing problems for the railway police. “When we visited her in-laws’ house, they told they had no relationship with her and they do not know about the child. This morning, Cuttack railway police informed us about Saraswati,” said the inspector.

The police said that the youth, who had taken the child home, was innocent. Mitu, who works as a salesman in an Omfed booth at the station, had admitted the child to Capital Hospital because he had wounds on his body.

“My sister’s family was not ready to accept the child fearing legal trouble. They agreed only after I told them that I’d take responsibility. On Saturday, when I heard that the police had taken away the baby, I rushed to Nischintakoili,” said Mitu, who is a school dropout.

Mitu said he had found the baby, covered in rashes and wounds, lying abandoned. Since he could not find his parents, he immediately took it to the hospital.

The police said that they had detained the man and were investigating the matter. “If he is found guilty, we will take action against him,” said a railway police officer.

The child, his biological mother and the woman who had been caring for him for the past two days, were produced before the district child welfare committee, which would take a decision on this regard.

A meeting will be held on Monday and the committee will take decisions in this regard, said sources at the short-stay home.