Police in the US state of Georgia has released a chilling video showing the moment "Baby India", a newborn girl abandoned in the woods, was found struggling inside a plastic grocery bag.
The footage from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office was released on Tuesday, with the hope that someone might come forward and identify the child, who was found on June 6 in Cumming, about 64 kilometres from Atlanta.
The sheriff's office said in a statement, it "is continuing to aggressively investigate and to follow leads regarding Baby India. As of today, we are still receiving tips from across the country on the possible identity of 'Baby India'".
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The office said it decided to release the footage "in hopes to receive credible information on the identity of Baby India and to show how important it is to find closure in this case", the CNN reported.
In the video, the officer can be seen ripping open a plastic bag to uncover a crying baby, whose umbilical cord is still attached.
The infant, who authorities named India, can later be seen wrapping its hand around the finger of one of the deputies on the scene.
Baby India is now "thriving" and in the care of Georgia Department of Family and Children Services, according to the sheriff's office.
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Authorities are still looking for the baby's mother.
Residents in a nearby home stumbled upon Baby India, when they checked out a noise coming from the secluded area, the report said.
The video sparked a massive emotional response online, with hundreds of users sharing the video, along with the hashtag #BabyIndia to help find the girl's mother.
Many also took to Twitter to share information about "safe haven" laws, which allow women to leave unharmed infants at designated locations -- such as police stations or hospitals -- without prosecution, thereby making the children wards of the state, so as to prevent another infant getting abandoned.
The baby is believed to have been just hours old when she was discovered.
(With inputs from agencies)
