“We have almost established the chain of events, and are very close to tracking the child’s parents. She had changed hands before reaching the teenaged girl, who brought her to AIIMS,” said Chhaya Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).

Police said they have sent a team to Mumbai to trace a taxi driver, identified as Rajkumar, with whom the girl was staying in a paying guest accommodation at Mahipalpur in South Delhi. The girl had told police that she had beaten up the infant out of frustration, when Rajkumar left them together a fortnight ago. “She has told us that the baby is speech impaired, and we are trying to verify the claim,” a senior police officer said.

Police said they were counselling the teenager as she was also a victim of abuse.