Starving one-year-old son was clinging to the woman's body by tracks in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh.
Highlights
- Woman's body was spotted by people in Damoh, 250 km from Bhopal
- Her starving one-year-old was clinging to her, trying to nudge her awake
- The police suspect the woman may have fallen off a train or was hit
A young woman lay dead by railway tracks and her infant son latched on to her breast, trying to feed, in gut-wrenching images that have emerged from Madhya Pradesh and have been widely shared on social media.
Early on Wednesday morning, the woman's body was spotted by a train driver in Damoh, around 250 km from state capital Bhopal. Her starving one-year-old son was clinging to her, weeping, trying to nudge her awake. When the police and officials arrived, they found the child sucking at his mother's breast, stopping only to nibble at a biscuit he held.
The scene was filmed and posted on social media by a few people at the spot.
A man claiming to be the child's father has met the police in Damoh. According to him, the woman is his wife, Phullo Bai, who left to buy medicines on Tuesday. He also claimed that they have two more children.
The police suspect the woman may have fallen off a train or was hit. She had a head wound. The baby was saved because his mother held him, it is believed. According to officials, she may have been conscious for a while after being hit, and tried to feed her son.
When the police and officials took away the mother, the child's wailing left them shaken to the core.
Another layer was added to the unspeakable tragedy when the two were taken to a government hospital. Officials allegedly refused to take in the child as there was no one to pay Rs 10 for admission. A ward boy finally fished out the money to get the process started.
The infant is at a children's home for now.
"When he came to us, he was very restless, crying...he was missing his mother and it was very hard to calm him down," said Sarita, a care worker. "Since yesterday, he is a little better. He recognizes us and is even eating well. We are trying to make him feel like he is with family, safe..."