Newborn rescued from sewage after stray cats alert residents

A newborn in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra was rescued from a drain after stray cats alerted residents, who then called the cops.

The incident took place in Pantnagar in the Indian commercial capital Mumbai. The hapless infant was found by locals wrapped in a cloth and dumped in sewage after cats created a ruckus on the street, drawing the residents' attention toward the baby, local outlet NDTV reported.

The people living nearby immediately notified the cops at the local police station and they raced to save the baby, the outlet reported. Mumbai Police said in a tweet that the baby was rushed to a hospital and is now safe.

"The baby was rushed to Rajawadi (hospital) by the Nirbhaya Squad of Pantnagar police station and is now safe and recovering," the tweet read. Cops shared two pictures with the post, which showed the baby napping in the arms of two officers.

The identities of the baby's parents or the person who dumped it in the drain remain unknown. The gender of the baby wasn't revealed by the cops either.

In a similar incident in November 2020, a newborn was rescued from the roadside after her parents allegedly stuffed her inside gunny sacks and left her to die in the cold. The incident took place in Meerut in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Police were alerted after passersby heard wails of the baby and took it to a nearby hospital for treatment.

In another such incident in June 2018, a newborn was rescued from a storm drain in the southern Indian city of Chennai after a milkman who was on his way to work heard its cries. A local woman, who was alerted by the milkman, discovered the baby. The woman pulled the baby to safety and it was rushed to a nearby hospital.