Srinagar – In a chilling predawn hour in Nadia's Nabadwip town, an abandoned newborn found an unlikely shield of survival-a silent circle of stray dogs that stood guard through the winter night, keeping the infant alive until residents awoke to a scene that many describe as nothing short of miraculous.
In the hours before dawn, when most of this river town in West Bengal's Nadia district lies silent under a winter sky, a newborn baby was left alone on the cold ground outside a bathroom in a railway workers' colony, a PTI report said.
The infant was only a few hours old, still marked with blood from birth, with no blanket, no note, and no one nearby. But the baby was not entirely alone.

What followed is now whispered with the disbelief reserved for miracles – a pack of strays, the very dogs people chase away daily, had formed a perfect ring around the newborn, not barking or moving, simply standing guard through the night.

Residents say the dogs did not allow anyone or anything to come near through the night, except the morning light itself.

“Waking up, we saw something that still gives us goosebumps,” said Sukla Mondal, a resident who was among the first to spot the baby.“The dogs were not aggressive. They looked... alert. As if they understood the child was fighting to live,” she said.

Another resident, Subhash Pal, recalled hearing the short, sharp cry around dawn.

“I thought some family had a sick baby. Never imagined a newborn was lying outside, with dogs watching over. They behaved like sentries,” he said.

It was only when Sukla finally approached, whispering softly, that the dogs eased open their circle.

She wrapped the baby in her dupatta and called neighbours for help.

The infant was rushed first to Maheshganj Hospital and then referred to Krishnanagar Sadar Hospital.

Doctors later said there were no injuries, and the blood on the head was likely from birth sign that the abandonment happened minutes, not hours, after delivery.

Police suspect someone from the locality may have left the child there under the cover of night.

Nabadwip police and Child Help authorities have begun enquiries and initiated procedures for the baby's long-term care.

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