A woman who suffered labour pains and remained unattended for more than an hour, was left to deliver a baby on the platform of Tambaram railway station on Sunday night with the baby dying as the 30-year-old beggar groaned in pain with not even the umbilical chord being snapped from the dead baby.

No passerby cared to inform the Railway police or other authorities about the groaning pregrnant woman who was first noticed on platform 8-9 around 3 pm. The baby was dead by the time help arrived or when railway police reached at 4.30 pm.

The baby could have been saved and the poor woman spared the excruciating moments had the CCTVs functioned or the railway police been on routine patrol that fateful afternoon.

A woman SI who attended the woman told Deccan Chronicle that they received information around 4 pm and she reached the woman by 4.15 pm. The 108 ambulance arrived an hour late at 5.30 pm, the SI said, adding that they were glad that they could at least save the mother.

The woman was admitted to Chrompet GH and the baby’s body sent to the mortuary.

A senior RPF official revealed that they were busy because of the railway recruitment board exam conducted on Sunday and hence could not be on regular patrol duty on the platform that day.

Authorities admitted to most of the CCTV cameras on the railway platform being defunct and said the monitors at the control room were under repair for long. They attributed the failure of the cameras to the lack of adequate infrastructure.

Investigations revealed that woman was a native of Chengalpet. However, she had not revealed her address.