In a shocking incident, a newborn baby boy was found almost buried near a graveyard in Lohardaga’s Kuru block, surviving ants, insects and monsoon rains for several hours before villagers came to his rescue, police said on Sunday.

“It is indeed miraculous how the baby survived. Although he has sustained injuries due to ant bites and moisture in the soil, he is healthy now,” said Anil Oraon, the officer in-charge of Kuru Police Station, under which the graveyard falls.

Some villagers heard the baby cry while they were passing by the locality in Chandlaso village, around 80 kilometers from capital Ranchi, at about 7.30 pm on Saturday and decided to check on him, police said. “Villagers found that the baby was semi-buried but still alive. They rescued him and subsequently informed us,” Oraon said.

The baby, police said, was born on Saturday itself, and even his umbilical cord had not been removed. He has been handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which admitted him at Rani Children's Hospital in Ranchi for treatment on Sunday.

“Prima facie, it seems that the baby was abandoned because he was illegitimate. Also, killing the baby was not the intention. His parents might have abandoned him and mud accumulated over his body,” said Rajkumar Verma, former chairperson of CWC Lohardaga.

The CWC has also written to Kuru police station asking them to lodge an FIR against the parents of the abandoned baby. Verma said the baby will be in custody of the CWC for the time being, and eventually will be handed over to eligible parents for adoption.

Incidents of babies being abandoned have been a concern for the CWC not only in Lohardaga but across Jharkhand. “Several babies are abandoned every year in our state. They are mostly abandoned to hide premarital pregnancy and illegitimate relationships,” said Tanushree Sarkar, member of CWC Ranchi.