Parents who abandoned infant at Pangoora claim her back

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 11

A newborn girl found in the cradle at Pangoora, a shelter-cum-rescue home for abandoned infants, was handed over to her parents by officials of Pangoora here on Wednesday.

The baby was found inside the cradle on the morning of January 5. The newborn was received by Pangoora officials and later medically examined at Parvati Devi Hospital. When the process was initiated as per the rules to put the baby for adoption, a person submitted a request that this baby girl was put in the cradle by them and they wanted to take her back.

Officials of Pangoora, which is run by the District Red Cross Society, further sent a request to the Deputy Commissioner, who is also president of the Red Cross Society, who asked the SDM, Ajnala, to investigate the matter. After the investigation, the Child Welfare Committee, Amritsar, ordered that the newborn should be handed over to her parents.

On January 10, Dr Gurpreet Kaur Johal Soodan, Chairperson, Red Cross Society, Amritsar, handed over the baby to her parents and the Deputy Commissioner gave Rs 21, 000 as FDR in the name of the infant. “Pangoora was started with a goal to stop female feoticide and creating awareness among people not to abandon the girl child. Over the years, Pangoora has received and successfully cleared adoption of so many abandoned babies. This was a rare occasion where parents realised their mistake and accepted the child back. We hope society at large is able to change and celebrate the birth of a girl child,” said Asisinder Singh, Executive Secretary, district Red Cross Society.