Kerala toddler who fell off jeep was rescued by auto driver, not forest officials

Though it was initially reported that the toddler who fell off a moving jeep was rescued by forest officials in September, the complete CCTV footage which has now surfaced shows an auto driver picking her up.

Idukki (Kerala): In an unexpected turn of events, it has now come to light that the toddler who fell out of a jeep in September and miraculously survived, was actually rescued by an autorickshaw driver, contrary to earlier reports which suggested forest officials were the ones who saved her.

Earlier in September this year, a one-year-old baby, Rohita, slipped off her sleeping mother's lap, and fell off a moving jeep near the Rajamala checkpost inside a reserve forest in Idukki district.

CCTV footage showed the toddler miraculously surviving the fall and crawling on the road. It was reported that forest department officials then rescued the baby.

However, it has now come to light that the footage was trimmed. The complete video, which has now surfaced, shows an autorickshaw driver, Kanakaraj stopping his vehicle and picking the toddler up.

According to reports, though forest officials had spotted the baby, they refrained from picking her up as they thought she was "a ghost".

The revelation came during the investigation on the details of the third person seen in the footage along with the forest officials.

Read: Toddler survives fall from moving jeep in Kerala