In a heart-warming gesture, Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde has rushed to the aid of a severely malnourished, pre-natal female baby dumped on thorny bushes near railway tracks in his native village Parli in Beed district. On Monday, some people passing by the railway line heard painful wails of a baby and were shocked to see the newborn, precariously lodged on a thorny bed of the acacia plant. "Someone called me up from there and informed me of this shocking find. I immediately called up the doctors at the hospital and directed them to take proper care of the baby," Munde told IANS.

A father of three young daughters himself, Munde said he was deeply moved after hearing the plight of the rejected female child, and decided to help her on humanitarian grounds. "The infant weighs barely 1.5 kgs and it is imperative that she should gain weight to at least 2-2.5 kgs over the next one month or so. She is under good care now," Munde added.