Karnataka CM to meet cop who breastfed newborn

Bengaluru: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday tweeted appreciating the efforts of a woman police constable for nursing and breastfeeding a newborn baby who was abandoned a few days ago. Mr Kumaraswamy also said that he will meet the constable soon to convey his appreciation.

Archana D.S., a woman police constable, attached to the Electronic City police station for the past five years, was surprised when she got to know that the CM had tweeted appreciating her work and also about meeting her.

Archana told Deccan Chronicle that she was not aware of the chief minister’s intention to meet her. “It is surprising that my little work has garnered so much attention. I have no words to express my gratitude for the people who have shown so much love.”

Archana, who recently delivered a baby boy, said, “I was shocked looking at the abandoned baby. I nursed the child as I have done my own. It is just a small act of humanity. We police personnel are also human beings and we are compassionate and have emotions too. I still don’t understand how anyone can abandon a newborn on the streets. The baby is now under the care of Shishu Mandir. Except for a minor bruise, there were no major injuries on the baby. The baby is doing well and is stable.” Asked what she wants to convey to the CM, she said, “I don’t know how I will react. The news of his wishing to meet me has made me both excited and nervous.”

The baby boy was found abandoned near a bush at an under-construction site in Doddathoguru in Electronic City on June 1. A passerby noticed the baby and informed the Electronic City police, who went to the spot and shifted the baby to a nearby private hospital, where it was nursed for its bruises and the umbilical cord was cut. The baby was brought to the police station and Archana found that that the baby was weak and nursed the baby, only after which the baby let out a cry. 

The baby is named Kumaraswamy.