Kasaragod: A 26-day-old baby girl, handed over by her mother to a caregiver, was rescued and reunited with her mother after Childline and the police intervened following neighbours' suspicion of child trafficking.

However, Chandera police later ruled out trafficking and did not register a case, as the child was safely returned to her mother.

On Wednesday afternoon, residents of Vadakkeppuram in Kasaragod's Padna panchayat called in the police after noticing a 40-year-old woman with an infant who, they believed, was not hers. Officers reached the spot and brought both the woman and the child to the Chandera station.

Police learned from the caregiver that the infant's mother was a resident of Pilathara near Payyannur. 

"We got the mother's phone number from her and called her," said Chandera Station House Officer K Prashanth.

The 40-year-old mother and her 36-year-old partner came to the station and told police that they had given the girl to the caregiver as they were leaving for a retreat centre in Bengaluru, the inspector said.

He said that the caregiver was known for caring for children. However, after the neighbours raised an alarm over possible trafficking, the mother decided to take the child back home to Pilathara, police said.

At the police station, the caregiver reportedly broke down and threatened to end her life if her name or photograph appeared in the media. "I did nothing wrong. I was only helping the mother," she told the police.

Padna panchayat president P V Muhamed Aslam said residents had suspected that the caregiver might have been planning to hand over the baby to another family, but no evidence supported that claim. Locals also said the woman’s living conditions were unsuitable for raising a child.