JAGATSINGHPUR: A 26-day-old baby in custody of the child welfare committee (CWC) of Jagatsinghpur died under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday.
The newborn boy was handed over to the CWC by his 25-year-old mother Sumitra Behera of Nagpur village within Balikuda police limits in the second week of March.
Sumitra had refused to hand over her newborn to her husband and in-laws alleging that they subjected her to domestic violence. Since then, the infant was in the child care institution (CCI).
The baby’s father and Sumitra’s husband Chabbi Behera of Sansola in Cuttack alleged that his son died due to negligence of CWC authorities.
“I had repeatedly approached the CWC officials to get access to my son but was denied permission. I was not even allowed to see my son. When I went to meet the CWC authorities again today, they told me that my son had died. This is shocking and heartbreaking,” said Chabbi.
He claimed that lack of timely medical care and absence of breast-feeding contributed to his son’s death. “I demand a thorough probe into the incident and strict action against those responsible for the baby’s death,” Chhabi added.
District child protection officer Kanhu Charan Rout confirmed the death of the newborn. He said the baby experienced difficulty in breathing and was rushed to the district headquarters hospital. However, he was declared dead by doctors. “We are waiting for the postmortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death,” he added.
Jagatsinghpur IIC Pravash Kumar Sahoo said police have registered an unnatural death case in this connection and sent the baby’s body for postmortem.
Meanwhile, the incident has raised serious questions about the procedures followed by both the CWC and hospital authorities in cases involving vulnerable infants.