A six-day-old baby was hospitalised in a critical condition on Monday after she, wrapped in a thin cloth, was found abandoned on a road in New Delhi to die, with police clueless about her parents.

The baby was admitted in the ICU of Babu Jagjivan Hospital in Model Town area of north Delhi where doctors said her condition was still serious.

Police said they were informed about the baby by locals and staff of G.D. Goenka School in the neighbourhood.

"It appears that someone had left the baby during the night near the school. She had suffered from cold and was hoarsely crying when spotted by the locals and the school staff," a police officer told media.

"Fortunately, the baby was not attacked by street dogs but she was critical. But she had been left to die," the officer said.

Police said they were examining the CCTV footage recorded by the roadside cameras and were also checking nearby hospitals, nursing homes for baby delivery reports and residential apartments for a clue about her parents.

A case has been registered against an unknown couple.  

Abandoned infants, mostly girls, are not uncommon in Delhi and across the country.

According to the 2013 Justice Verma Committee report, some 60,000 infants are abandoned in the country for various reasons, including poverty.

Meanwhile in a separate incident, police found a four-month foetus near a slum area in R.K. Puram of south Delhi on Monday.

The foetus had been buried near a drain and was discovered by some boys who were playing in the area.