A newborn baby girl has been found by accident buried alive in a shallow grave in northern India, a police chief said.
Police chief Abhinandan Singh said the baby was found by a villager who was burying his own premature child, a daughter, who died within minutes of her birth, the BBC reports.
Mr Singh described the discovery as "a very inhuman incident."
The baby was found placed in an earthen pot about 3ft (90cm) below the ground when a grieving parent buried his own daughter in Maninath cremation ground.
He accidentally struck the pot with a spade and heard the baby's cries.
The baby was found alive in the pot and was fed milk and he called police and ambulance and she taken to hospital where she is now recovering from her ordeal.
Police have begun an investigation into the circumstances of her birth and burial in the state of Uttar Pradesh, south east of Delhi.
Mr Singh said they suspect it must have happened with the consent of the baby's parents.
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India's gender ratio is among the worst in the world. Women are frequently discriminated against and girls can be regarded as a burden economically, especially in the poorest communities.
Campaigners argue that a traditional preference for sons has led to millions of female children lost to foeticide - the descruction of a foetus - or infanticide, where a newborn is intentionally killed, over many years.
A neo-natal nurse said the hospital staff had named the baby, Sita.
