BERHAMPUR: The baby swap case at MKCGMCH here was solved on Monday after hospital superintendent Prof Ashok Behera confirmed that Anil Kumar Biswasroy and his wife Priyadarshini of Hinjili are the parents of the two-month-old girl on the basis of the DNA report.
“The girl has been discharged from the hospital and would leave with her parents after completion of necessary paper works,” Prof Behera said.
During third week of February, both Priyadarshini and Sunita Basantia, wife of Sibaram of Sunathar village, gave birth to premature babies at the hospital. The babies were admitted to the Sick New Born Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital.
On March 4, SNCU staff handed over a baby’s body to Biswasroy couple saying their child had died. Without confirming the identity of body, the couple buried it. As per hospital records, Priyadarshini had given birth to a girl.
On March 6, Sunita, who had delivered a baby boy, was handed over a baby girl by the hospital staff. She and her husband alleged that their child was swapped with a girl and lodged a complaint with the hospital authorities. The hospital conducted an internal inquiry.
Reading about the developments in the media, Biswasroy couple got suspicious about their daughter’s death and reported the matter to Baidyanathpur police. Police exhumed the body of the newborn from Hinjili and found it to be that of a boy with a hospital tag stating it to be a girl. This confirmed that the tags were changed.
Prof Behera said action would be initiated against two doctors and a staff nurse who were on duty at the labour ward during the delivery of Priyadarshini and Sunita. However, their names have not been disclosed.
Replying to a spate of questions, Anil said the staff responsible for the baby swap should be given exemplary punishment for their negligence. The couple, who distributed sweets at the hospital, said they have named their daughter Smruti.