A TINY newborn girl was found ALIVE after she was buried in a shallow grave – it is believed by her parents, who were hoping for a boy.
The three-day-old was found inside a sealed clay pot, wrapped in cloth and buried just three feet beneath the earth at a village crematorium in Northern India, with docs dubbing the little girl a "fighter."
In a shock twist to the miraculous story, the little girl was discovered by labourers who were digging a grave for another couple whose daughter had been stillborn.
Devastated Hitesh and Vaishali Kumar were at the crematorium in Uttar Pradesh to bury their own daughter – when labourers struck something beneath the soil.
'ALIVE AND CRYING'
Hitesh said: "My wife had given birth to a stillborn child at a private hospital in Rampur Garden locality of the city.
"We took the baby to a crematorium where the labours were digging a grave. Suddenly, a labour's spade hit a pot. It was kept in a bag.
"When they took the bag out, they found a baby wrapped in a cloth. She was alive and crying.
"At one point I thought my daughter has come alive but the voice was actually coming from the pot.
"We couldn’t understand much and asked the guard to have a look at it. When the pot was opened, a baby girl was kept inside.
"I immediately called ambulance and informed police to ensure that her life was saved."
The horrified couple alerted police and ambulance services, who rushed the tiny baby to hospital where she is receiving treatment for a lung infection.
Police chief, Abhinandan Singh said: "We are trying to find the parents of the baby and we suspect that this must have happened with their consent."
'THE CHARACTER OF A TRUE FIGHTER'
Tragically, it is not unusual to find abandoned baby girls in some parts of India where female infanticide is particularly high, as old-fashioned and backwards traditions pit male children above girls.
Doctor Saurabh Anjan branded the little one a "fighter," saying: "Premature babies often need less oxygen supply to survive, she truly is a fighter."
Of her miracle survival, Dr Anjan said: "She must be receiving some oxygen when buried in the grave through the pores in the soil which was possibly loose as the grave must be fresh.
"She is currently under the condition of hypothermia and constantly on oxygen support. Her lungs have caught infection and she is unable to take direct feed.
"She used her brown fat also known as Brown Adipose tissue, and is a special type of body fat that is activated to maintain core temperature, to survive.
"She survived despite her platelet count dropped to 10,000 while the normal range is 150,000 and exhibited the character of a true fighter."
"We are providing every possible treatment to her."
Incredibly, the couple who discovered the newborn – Hitesh and Vaishali Kumar – intend to adopt the baby girl.
WHY DOES INDIA HAVE SUCH HIGH LEVELS OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE?
- Baby girls are considered a curse and a financial burden in many poor areas of India.
- Families fear having to pay expensive dowries for their weddings, while boys are usually counted upon to take care of their parents in their old age.
- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates up to 50 million girls and women are missing in India's population as a result of infanticide and sex selective abortions.
- The children's rights group CRY has estimated that of the 12 million females born yearly in India, 1 million will have died within their first year of life
- Women's rights activist, Donna Fernandes has dubbed the practice a type of 'female genocide'
A family member of the couple said: "My sister and her husband were devastated after they gave birth to a stillborn but this baby has given some hopes to them.
"They are willing to adopt her and will approach the child welfare committee once she is completely healed and fit enough to go home."
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