A newborn infant was found outside a bathroom at the Haripad Taluk Hospital on Tuesday morning after a 20-year-old woman delivered the baby in secret and threw the child out through a window.

Following the incident, the Haripad Police registered a case against the woman under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempt to murder.

According to the FIR, the woman was admitted to the hospital on Monday after complaining of stomach pain. She was placed under observation and later went to the bathroom around 12.15 am, where she delivered the child.

The unmarried woman, fearing the stigma of having a child out of wedlock, threw the newborn out of the bathroom window with the intention of killing the infant, the FIR states.

A doctor treating the woman told the media that the hospital staff had suspected she was pregnant, but the woman denied it. “She refused to be examined. She only asked us to give her medicines for the pain,” the doctor said.

She added that hospital staff later heard the faint cries of an infant from outside the building, following which security personnel were instructed to inspect the area. The newborn was subsequently found lying outside the hospital premises.

“We immediately provided basic care and referred the child for further treatment,” the doctor said.

Police said both the mother and the infant are currently undergoing treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Alappuzha.