The baby girl, who was abandoned by her parents a day after her birth at the SCB Medical College and Hospital on April 20, was on Saturday handed over to the district administration by the hospital authorities.
Acting on the instructions of the Cuttack Collector, Childline officials took charge of the baby girl and put her under the care of Vasundhara children’s home. The District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) will meet on Tuesday to decide the future course of action.
“She has been temporarily shifted to Vasundhara as her stay in the hospital was not possible any longer.
The CWC on Tuesday would decide on the institution that would take care of the baby permanently”, CWC member Rini Mohanty said.
The move to shift the baby from the neonatal unit of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology wing of the hospital was taken as her parents could not be traced.
As per the medical records, the girl was born to one Sabita Behera of Icchapur village on the night of April 19. The mother and the child were shifted to the ward the next morning.
But in the afternoon, Sabita left the baby in the care of the attendants of the ward on the plea to go to the bathroom and did not return.
As both the woman and her husband, named Banamali, were nowhere to be found, the hospital authorities had no option but to take the baby under their care.
A report was lodged with the police in this connection. But as police launched a search for the couple, it was found that the names and addresses given to the hospital were fake.
There were no persons named as Sabita and Banamali in Icchapur village.
“The act of abandoning the newborn girl was planned. The parents apparently knew the baby was going to be a girl child. Or else, why would they provide false names at the time of registration at the hospital”, Mohanty said.