A 19-year-old woman gave birth to a baby while traveling on a moving sleeper coach bus in Maharashtra’s Parbhani district, but she and a man claiming to be her husband allegedly threw the newborn out of the window, resulting in the infant’s death, according to police.
India:— Woman gives birth to baby in bus. Husband throws the baby out of window. Baby dies. Couple arrested.
— South Asia Index (@SouthAsiaIndex) July 17, 2025
The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, on the Pathri-Selu Road. It came to light when a vigilant passerby saw something wrapped in cloth being thrown from the bus and informed the authorities, an official said.
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The woman, identified as Ritika Dhere, was traveling from Pune to Parbhani with a man named Altaf Shaikh, who claimed to be her husband. During the journey on a Sant Prayag Travels sleeper coach, Dhere went into labor and gave birth to a baby boy. The couple then allegedly wrapped the newborn in cloth and threw him out of the moving bus.
The bus driver, who noticed something being discarded from a window, questioned Shaikh, who responded that his wife had vomited due to motion sickness.
However, a passerby who saw the wrapped bundle on the roadside checked it and was shocked to discover it was a baby. He immediately called the police helpline (112) to report the incident.
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A local police patrol team quickly intercepted the bus. After a preliminary investigation, they took Dhere and Shaikh into custody. The couple reportedly told police they discarded the baby because they were unable to raise the child. The newborn died from injuries sustained after being thrown onto the road.
Police said both Dhere and Shaikh are originally from Parbhani but had been living in Pune for the past year and a half. Although they claimed to be married, they were unable to provide any documentation to prove it.
Dhere was taken to a hospital for medical care, and a case was registered against the couple at the Pathri police station under Sections 94(3) and 94(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to the secret disposal of a newborn’s body. A notice has been issued to the accused, and further investigation is ongoing.