Boy abandoned after birth gets home in Italy

The newborn was rescued from the drain by a couple—Shivaji and Jayashree Ragade—on December 30, 2018. Till the time of his adoption, the Ragade couple looked after all his requirements

Ambernath: Tiger, now four-year-old, who was abandoned in a drain in Ambernath hours after his birth, on Friday got a new home and set of parents after he was adopted by an Italian couple.

The couple visited Vishwa Balak Kendra in Nerul and flew back with Tiger.

The newborn was rescued from the drain by a couple—Shivaji and Jayashree Ragade—on December 30, 2018. Till the time of his adoption, the Ragade couple looked after all his requirements.

“After an eight-month-long process Tiger finally got his parents. It is not that we did not try to adopt him, but one cannot adopt a child by choice. Hence, we had to wait for another family to adopt him and look after his future,” Ragade said.

After rescuing the newborn, the couple had to send him to Central hospital as the umbilical cord was still attached to the baby and he was fully covered in blood.

As Tiger was left in drain water for hours, he was battling for his life and was feared to have contracted an infection. As there was not much improvement even after four days of treatment, the Ragade couple shifted the baby to a private hospital in Ulhasnagar, where he opened his eyes after 22 days of treatment.

Later, Tiger was shifted to Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Parel for better treatment. He then underwent a brain surgery in January 2019 and a major chunk of the cost, around ₹10 lakh, was crowdfunded within 24 hours. Tiger was discharged from hospital nearly after four months and was taken to Child Welfare Committee, Ambernath and then sent to Vishwa Balak Kendra in Nerul for further care and adoption.

“We were associated with all the procedures and decisions that needed to be done for Tiger as a family. We used to meet him often and the attachment was growing. However, for his better future his adoption was necessary and we decided to give him that privilege so that he can live a happy life. Today he is away from us but we are happy for him,” Ragade said.

“The boy has been adopted legally and sent with the couple,” a representative of Vishwa Balak Kendra said.