A mentally-retarded woman gave birth to a baby boy on roadside in the Bhutamndei area under Kujang block in Jagatsinghpur district on Friday night.
A police patrolling team rescued the woman and the newborn and rushed them to a hospital for treatment. The conditions of both the woman and the infant are now stable, hospital sources said.
While patrolling, the lockpada police found the woman lying on a road near the Bana Bihari Mahapurush Mutt and suffering from labour pain. The police called Bhutumundei Sarpanch Sanjay Swain, who reached the spot with a team of health workers. But by then, the woman had delivered the baby.
The woman and the baby were sent to the Biju Memorial hospital in Paradip, where no doctor was present. later, they were taken to the Kujanga Hospital and again shifted to the Jagatsinghpur District Headquarters Hospital.
The Sarpanch said the woman used to wander on the NH-5 (A) and take shelter on roadside makeshift stalls and even under open sky. Taking advantage of her mental disabilities, somebody has made her pregnant, he said, adding the matter should be investigated.