Nurses at SCB Medical College and Hospital with the babies found at Cuttack railway station. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Nov. 5: Two newborn baby girls, who were found abandoned inside a carton at the Cuttack railway station, were rescued by the Government Railway Police (GRP) this evening and admitted to the SCB Medical College and Hospital. Their condition is said to be stable.

The GRP said the babies were discovered after a group of passengers heard faint cries coming from a pile of consignment boxes under a luggage trolley on platform No. 1, which made them suspicious. On opening one of the boxes, two baby girls were found, wrapped in a soft cloth. The GRP was informed and they immediately rushed the babies to the hospital.

“I was waiting at platform No. 1 to catch a train to Rourkela. At around 7:30pm, some of us heard a faint sound of babies crying. We followed the sound and found two baby girls, abandoned inside a closed box. It was shocking,” said Pradeep Rout, a passenger.

A GRP official said both the babies are about three to four days old. According to GRP inspector in-charge Trinath Mishra, both the babies are twins and it is suspected that they were abandoned by their parents.

“The babies were crying, probably due to hunger. They are underweight, which is why we suspect they have been abandoned. Our first responsibility was to take them to the hospital so that they get immediate treatment,” said Mishra.

Officials at the SCB Medical College and Hospital said the babies would be provided with all kinds of assistance and treatment. Only after getting direction from the district administration, the custody of the babies would be handed over to some NGO or other voluntary group.

Hospital sources said there were no injury marks on their bodies. “One of them weighs 900 grams while the other is about 1.2kg. They are weak but stable now, and would be kept under observation for the next 24 to 48 hours,” said B.N. Moharana, emergency officer of SCB.

This is for the first time that female children have been found abandoned at the railway station.

“Already, there has been a decline in the sex ratio in urban areas compared to rural areas. Growing economic disparity and despite stringent laws to put a check on sex determination, many private nursing homes are carrying out their trade,” said Rakesh Dash, a local resident.

Dash added that a lot of awareness should be created regarding the importance of female child.

“They are equal to their male counterparts in every aspect,” said Dash.