Kochi: Baby Nidhi, who was abandoned by a Jharkhand couple at a hospital in Kochi, will be handed over to the Lohardaga Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Jharkhand on July 7. The Ernakulam Child Protection Officer and the Special Juvenile Protection Unit will accompany the child to Jharkhand.

Although the baby’s parents have now expressed their willingness to take her back, the CWC officials have decided to transfer her directly to the Jharkhand CWC, which will take the final call regarding her custody. "They will decide on handing over the child to the parents," said Vincent Joseph, CWC Chairman. "The parents are in touch with us and are currently in Kerala," he added.

Nidhi is currently housed at a children's care home in Ernakulam. She was abandoned by her parents when she was just three weeks old at Ernakulam General Hospital. Her parents, Magaleswar and Ranjitha, who worked at a fish farm in Kottayam, were travelling by train to their hometown when Ranjitha went into labour. She was admitted to the hospital in January and gave birth to Nidhi. Since the baby weighed less than 1 kg, she was shifted to a private hospital for advanced treatment. However, the parents later disappeared, and repeated attempts by hospital authorities to contact Magaleswar failed.

The state government then stepped in to take responsibility for Nidhi’s care. A medical board was formed to oversee her treatment. She required oxygen support for a week and received two blood transfusions as she was suffering from anemia. Nidhi was also fed milk from the hospital’s breast milk bank and was given multivitamins and iron supplements.