Mother Of ‘Baby India’ Arrested For Abandoning Newborn In The Woods In A Plastic Bag

FORSYTH, GA (IANS) – Officials here say that after four years they have finally solved the mystery of a newborn girl shockingly left to die in the woods, with the arrest of the baby’s Indian American mother.

Forsyth County Sheriff, Ron Freeman, announced on May 19 that Karima Jiwani was established through DNA as the baby’s mother and faces charges of attempted murder, cruelty, and reckless abandonment.

Referring to her as “the biological parent” while announcing the arrest, Freeman said, “I have trouble with the word ‘mother‘, (for someone) who inexplicably, intentionally, left her newborn infant to die.”

“This child was tied up in a plastic bag and thrown into woods like a bag of trash,” he said, adding, “Back then I called it divine intervention, and I still believe that today”.

The girl, who is now four years old and was nicknamed “Baby India” by hospital staff when she was found, has been adopted and Freeman said that she was a “healthy, happy child.”

To protect her privacy, officials did not identify her or provide further details.

Freeman said that the child’s father was identified through DNA about ten months ago and then her mother was traced. The father, who was not identified, did not know the woman was pregnant and has not been charged in connection with the abandonment, he said.

Jiwani is known to have a history of concealed pregnancies and “surprise births,” the media said. Freeman said that Jiwani, 40, has other children ranging in age from school-going to “near adulthood”.

A Georgia regulation known as Safe Haven Law allows mothers to leave their babies at medical facilities or police and fire stations without facing criminal charges.

Jiwani did not make any attempt to avail herself of the law’s provisions, Freeman told Appen News and, that she probably gave birth in a vehicle before abandoning the baby.