A newborn baby has been found buried in cow dung in a rural village in India.
The baby boy, believed to be no more than 24 hours old, was found dead under a pile of dung in an open field in a village in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, in northern India.
Local farmer Arjun Prasad, 35, was passing the area on his way to work and noticed something sticking out of the mud on Monday at 8am.
He said: ‘I was crossing our village when I spotted a pyramid created out of cow dung. I could see something unusual coming out of it.
Local farmer Arjun Prasad, 35, was passing the area on his way to work and noticed something sticking out of the mud on Monday at 8am. Pictured: A crowd at the village after the discovery
The baby boy, believed to be no more than 24 hours old, was found dead under a pile of dung in an open field in a village in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, in northern India
‘I went over and started clearing it with my feet to understand what it was and I was shocked to see the results. I spotted a newborn child lying there, dead.’
Arjun ran back to the village and informed locals, who then called the police. Locals quickly gathered to see the newborn lying lifeless in the cow dung. Eventually one person pulled out the child and cleaned him.
‘We were shocked to see the cruelty of the parents who decided to dump their child like this. We suspect the child was just a few hours old as the umbilical cord was still attached to him,’ Arjun added.
‘It was very sad, and it affected us all for the rest of the day.’
The police started an investigation immediately and are currently trying to find the parents and person responsible.
Station Officer Priyamvad Mishra, from Gonda Police Station, said: ‘Villagers informed us about the incident.
Arjun ran back to the village and informed locals, who then called the police. Locals quickly gathered to see the newborn lying lifeless in the cow dung. Pictured: Villagers after the shocking discovery
‘The baby was dead when we reached the spot. We have sent the body for a post-mortem and we are waiting for the results to confirm the cause of death.
‘The investigation has started and we suspect an outsider has possibly dumped their newborn in the cow dung in this village as there is no suspicion among locals in their own village.
‘The child was possibly dumped on Sunday night and was found the next morning. We are now interviewing people in neighbouring villages.’