UP: RPF cop saves newborn and mother in train

Lucknow, March 22

A 26-year-old RPF constable, used her experience at a private clinic to save the newborn and the mother, who were lying helpless for nearly half-an-hour in the lavatory of a train.

The RPF constable, Kumari Sona, belongs to Mathura district and had earlier worked at a private clinic.

The incident took place on Tuesday evening in a train headed towards Rourkela, Odisha.

The woman passenger had delivered the baby in the lavatory. The infant was not breathing but after Sona's intervention, the infant started breathing.

Later, a railway medical team at Rourkela junction took the woman and her child to the nearest hospital.

For her efforts, Sona of Chakradharpur railway division (Jharkhand) of South-Eastern Railway (SER) has been lauded by her colleagues and seniors.

The woman identified as Laxmi Godra, 24, and her newborn baby are said to be stable.

According to official sources, Laxmi along with her husband Bahadur Godra and brother-in-law Raju was travelling from Hazur Sahib in Nanded (Maharashtra) to Tatanagar (Jharkhand) in Hazur Sahib Nanded-Santragachi SuperFast Express (12767).

Railway sources said, "Laxmi had gone to the loo when she developed labour pain and delivered the baby inside the coach lavatory. Since no passenger, including women, came to her rescue, she along with her newborn remained inside the lavatory. But as soon as the train reached Rourkela junction, her husband jumped at the railway platform and shouted for help."

"I was heading to Tatanagar for a scheduled firing exercise along with my group, when one of my colleagues informed me that a woman had delivered a baby inside the train lavatory and there was no one to help her. I had gained some informal experience in child delivery at a private clinic where I worked as a nonmedical staff before I joined the RPF. I followed my instincts and ran to help her," Sona told reporters.

"Without wasting time, I first detached and clipped the umbilical cord. The newborn was showing no movement and his body was turning pale. I turned him around and started rubbing his back. It took me a couple of minutes when the baby started crying after which I wrapped him in a blanket. By then the medical team arrived and took over," she said.