Kerala’s ‘Nidhi’ begins her journey to Jharkhand for reunion with her parents

When the Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express chugged away from the Ernakulam South railway station in Kerala on Monday (July 7, 2025) Nidhi, about three weeks shy of turning six months, was fast asleep in the hands of an Ernakulam District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) member.

Though born in Kochi, her parents are from Jharkhand, to where she is headed to. The Ernakulam Child Welfare Committee (CWC) had approved the transfer of her custody to their counterparts in Jharkhand. The infant is being accompanied by three staff from the Ernakulam DCPU and three from the Special Juvenile Police. Though she will reach there on July 9, her parents probably will have to wait for some time before getting her custody as it will depend on the assessment of the Jharkhand CWC.

Nidhi was born to the Jharkhand couple who were working in a fish farm in Kottayam. They were on their way to Jharkhand when the mother developed labour pain aboard the train on January 29, 2025. She was rushed to the Ernakulam General Hospital (GH) where she delivered the baby. Shortly after the delivery, the baby was transferred to a private hospital in the city for specialised care since she was 28 weeks premature, anaemic and weighed just 950 grams on birth.

However, the parents went missing soon after the mother was discharged, which they were later to explain was due to financial constraints. Subsequently, the Ernakulam Town North police registered a case against them for abandonment and cruelty to child. The baby was then shifted back to GH.

Later, the Kerala Health Minister named her Nidhi, meaning ‘treasure’. As Nidhi gained weight and turned into a healthy baby, she was transferred to the custody of a child care unit registered with the Ernakulam CWC in April where she continued till her departure on Monday.

Later in April, the Kochi City police managed to track down her parents quite inadvertently with the help of a police contingent from Jharkhand who had come to the city to take part in a national-level police badminton tournament. The police arranged a video conference session for her parents to see her, which proved to be an emotional reunion.

The Ernakulam CWC then got in touch with their Jharkhand counterparts, who submitted a report that the parents have the capacity to take care of the child notwithstanding their financial constraints.

The Kochi City police also favoured the transfer of the child’s custody notwithstanding the case registered against the parents.