“Baby India” suspect arrested four years after newborn was found in the woods

Authorities in Georgia have arrested a suspect in the “Baby India” case, four years after the newborn was found abandoned in a plastic bag in the woods, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office announced.  

Karima Jiwani, 40, was arrested Thursday after investigators used DNA to identify the biological parents of the child, known as “Baby India,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said in a news conference Friday.  

Jiwani has been charged with criminal intent to commit murder, cruelty to children, aggravated assault, reckless abandonment and other charges, Freeman said. 

In 2019, a family called 911 saying they were hearing cries coming from the woods near their home.  

When police went to investigate, they found the newborn baby tied in a plastic bag, with her umbilical cord still attached. 

A video of the discovery was made public shortly after she was found, as officials appealed to the public for help locating the girl’s parents or finding out why she was abandoned. In the footage, deputies are seen removing the baby from the plastic bag and wrapping her in a blanket. 

Investigators were first able to identify the father of “Baby India” 10 months ago, but Freeman explained Friday that there was no indication he was involved in her abandonment. 

Freeman said the infant was found hours before a severe thunderstorm struck Forsyth County, and described her discovery as “divine intervention.” 

The sheriff’s office reported that the baby was “thriving” in the care of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services shortly after she was found. 

Freeman mentioned that this case was particularly emotional. “I’ve been doing this for 33 years, and I truly can’t think of one that I wanted more. This innocent baby girl got put in a bag and left as a bag of trash to die.”