By Shankar Raj*
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s ‘bucket baby’ Niket has now found a new home – in Italy. Two years ago, Niket was found abandoned in a bucket and fought a desperate battle for survival.
Today, he is in the warm hands of an Italian couple who adopted him after his biological parents abandoned him on April 4, 2023, in Aranmula, Pathanamthitta, in south Kerala — the land of the hill god Ayyappa. He was discovered in a bucket in front of a house.
It was sheer luck that favoured Niket. After giving birth to him at home, his mother sought medical attention at a hospital in Chengannur due to excessive bleeding. The mother informed the hospital authorities that she had delivered a stillborn baby. However, police became suspicious when, at the same time, they received information about the abandoned infant, weighing just 1.3 kilograms, and rushed him to Kottayam Medical College Hospital for treatment.
The timely intervention by police officers, which ended up saving the child’s life, came with high praise. A video showing a cop running to a hospital carrying the bucket with the child in it had then gone viral.
Chengannur sub-inspector MC Abhilash, who carried the infant to safety, was quoted in the media as saying: “We just wanted to save his life. Seeing him in safe hands now fills my heart with joy,” said overwhelmed with emotions.
After weeks in intensive care, Niket was moved to a childcare facility. Learning of the story, an Italian couple applied through the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to adopt him. The parents, with one previous child, accepted Niket wholeheartedly.
This February, the couple completed the adoption formalities and took Niket to their home country.
According to reports, Niket is happy as he begins a new chapter in Italy, reminding everyone that hope and humanity still exist.
The Omallur Child Welfare Centre played a crucial role in facilitating the process. Pathanamthitta Child Welfare Committee chairman N Rajeev was quoted in the media as saying that “This is testament to the system in place for giving children a better life.”
*Shankar Raj is a former editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
