An emaciated 6-month-old baby girl is fighting for her life after being found in a cupboard where her mom left her to starve to death.

An emaciated 6-month-old baby girl is fighting for her life after being found in a cupboard where her mom left her to starve to death. 

The child, named Katya was born in back in April and had been living off water and scraps of discarded food given by her elder brother, Russian media reported.  

Krasnoturyinsk Live, the news outlet that revealed the horrifying incident, said the child's mother Yulia 'hoped that the baby would pass away from starvation.'

The mother is now in Police custody and a criminal case has been opened by the Russian Investigative Committee into 'torturing' the child, an offence that can lead to up to seven years in jail if convicted.

She is currently undergoing examination in a psychiatric clinic, said law enforcement.

The baby girl was reportedly found by a friend of the 37-year-old mother who 'heard a muted cry' during the 13th birthday party of Yulia's son, who had been secretly feeding his little sister. 

The mother had kept the birth of her third child secret, and had put the baby girl in a duffle bag inside a wardrobe in an empty room in her flat.

Sverdlovsk regional police spokesman Valery Gorelykh said: 'It is hard to believe in this horrendous story. But however difficult it is to say this, it is true.'  

Officers 'went to check out the flat after receiving information about this case,' he said.

The girl was airlifted 270 miles by helicopter to a hospital in the regional capital Yekaterinburg where she is now in intensive care.

'They found the starving baby and organised her urgent transportation to hospital where doctors are fighting for her life.'

'The child was suffering from severe malnutrition.  

'She wanted to kill the baby but in the end didn't have enough heart for it,' alleged a source familiar with the case.

'She thought that perhaps the baby would die from starvation. She was found by accident.

'The mother was having a birthday drink with a friend, who asked why one of the rooms in her flat was always shut.' Yulia said it was used for storage.

'One of the friends who went for a cigarette in the middle of the party decided to check that room after hearing the cry.