On Monday morning, a 25-year-old divorcee left her wailing four-day-old son at Savni Mata temple in Charkop, Kandivli, fearing that he will be labelled illegitimate.
But her maternal instincts took over and Sheetal Dhanawade returned to the temple the next day for her baby.
After learning from the local residents that her son was with the police, Dhanawade turned up at the Charkop police station on Tuesday and said she wanted her baby back.
But she was arrested for abandoning her son.
Dhanawade told the police that she had been divorced for the last five years and was living with her parents in Charkop. She added that she was involved a man in her neighbourhood and had got pregnant.
“Fearing that her child will be called illegitimate, she decided to abandon him,” said Inspector V Mukne of the Charkop police station.
Dhanawade, who was granted bail by a local court, has now sought custody of her son.