6-yr-old disabled boy abandoned

In what is a sad commentary on the fate of disabled children in the country, a six-year-old mentally and physically challenged boy was abandoned by his guardians at a children's home in Sarita Vihar on Tuesday.

In what is a sad commentary on the fate of disabled children in the country, a six-year-old mentally and physically challenged boy was abandoned by his guardians at a children's home in Sarita Vihar on Tuesday.

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The boy, who was found in a cradle outside the Welfare Home for Children, Sarita Vihar, has severe disabilities and cannot even stand on his own.

"The police should find his parents soon. If they could take care of the child for six years, what forced them to abandon him now?" said the order passed by the Child Welfare Committee, Lajpat Nagar.

The child is currently living at the welfare home in Sarita Vihar. The home has, however, requested that the child be moved to Asha Kiran home for disabled children.

The incident comes days after a 12-day-old girl was left at a park in Nizamuddin. Abandoned by her parents in the park, the girl was found by a group of men living in the area. She was admitted to AIIMS and remained in the ICU for four days.

According to an RTI filed by NGO Pratidhi, 745 children were abandoned in 2010.

"Despite a law against abandonment, the number is rising day by day. Of the total number of children abandoned, more than 70% are girls," said Raaj Mangal Prasad, chairperson, Child Welfare Committee, Lajpat Nagar.