A new-born baby, who had been buried by unidentified persons, was rescued by a vigilant Indian farmer.

Tatte Gowda, a farmer in a village near Chikkaballapur in South India, had gone to work at his agricultural farm on the morning of March 22.

He saw a flock of crows swooping down on an object. When he went closer to check, he was shocked to find a half-buried new-born boy with his umbilical chord still intact.

He shooed away the crows and called his neighbour Ratnamma, who was nearby. He asked her to take care of the baby and ran to the local health centre, which was a kilometre away.

A doctor at the centre, Dr Poornima, grabbed her medical kit and rushed to treat the baby. She found that the baby had survived the trauma and was breathing easily. The baby, who had been injured in the leg by the crows, responded well to her treatment.

Ramesh, a local child protection officer, also went to the spot, along with police, and shifted the baby to the district hospital in Chintamani in an ambulance.

Ramesh said “We will keep him in hospital till he recovers and then arrangements would be made for his adoption.”

The police have registered a case against unknown persons for abandonment and exposure of an infant.