India: newborn girl found in shallow grave buried alive

Local authorities say that a newborn baby girl was discovered buried alive in a shallow grave in northern India.

Police chief Abhinandan Singh told the media that the newborn was discovered by a villager while he was burying his own daughter after she died just minutes following her birth. The newborn found alive had been in an earthen pot that was buried about 3ft or 90cm below the ground. BBC reports that she was rushed to the hospital and is currently recovering.

Local officials have now ordered an investigation into the morbid incident.

Singh tells the press in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh: “We are trying to find the parents of the baby and we suspect that this must have happened with their consent.”

Police say that the villager found the newborn girl only by accident while he was digging a burial for his own deceased newborn daughter.

“As they were digging a grave for her, at a depth of three feet, the spade hit an earthen pot, which was pulled out. There was a baby lying in it,” Singh further explained to reporters.

“The police took the baby to the city hospital where she is getting treatment,” he confirms.

India is known for having the worst gender ratio globally. Misogyny and patriarchy are rampant in the country with women often facing discrimination throughout their lives. Parents prefer to have sons as girls are only seen as a burden financially — most especially in poor communities.

Millions of female babies are lost to infanticide over the years.