Mumbai (PTI): A 19-year-old woman gave birth to a baby on board a running sleeper coach bus in Maharashtra’s Parbhani, but she and a man claiming to be her husband threw the newborn out of the window, leading to the child's death, police have said.

The incident occurred around 6.30 am on Tuesday on the Pathri-Selu Road and came to light after an alert citizen spotted that something was thrown out of the bus in a wrapped cloth, an official said.

“A woman, identified as Ritika Dhere, was travelling to Parbhani from Pune along with Altaf Shaikh, who claimed to be her husband, in the sleeper coach bus of Sant Prayag Travels.

During their journey, the woman, who was pregnant, went into labour and gave birth to a baby boy. However, the couple wrapped the newborn in a piece of cloth and threw him out of the vehicle,” he said.

The driver of the sleeper bus, which has compartments with upper and lower berths, noticed that something was thrown out of a window. When he enquired about it, Shaikh told him that his wife had vomited as she felt nauseated due to the bus journey, he said.

“Meanwhile, when an alert citizen on the road checked what was thrown out of the bus window, he was shocked to find that it was a baby boy. He immediately alerted the police by calling their 112 helpline,” he said.

A team of the local police on patrolling duty subsequently intercepted the bus. After inspecting the vehicle and conducting a preliminary probe, they took the woman and Shaikh into custody, the official said.

The couple said they dumped the newborn as they were unable to raise the child, he said, adding that the baby died after being thrown on the road.

According to the police, Dhere and Shaikh both hailed from Parbhani and were staying in Pune for the last one-and-a-half years. They claimed to be husband and wife but failed to produce any document to support the claim, the official said.

“After taking them into custody, the police rushed the woman to a hospital for treatment,” he said.

A case was registered against the couple at Pathri police station in Parbhani under section 94 (3), (5) of BNS (concealment of birth by secret disposal of dead body), he said.

A notice has been served to the accused persons, and further probe in the case was underway, he said.