BHUBANESWAR: A man on Tuesday accused the health staff of Capital Hospital of swapping his newborn baby, prompting authorities to order a probe into the matter.
Pranakrushna Biswal filed a complaint with the Capital Hospital director and Capital police station alleging that they were initially informed about the delivery of a baby boy but were later handed a newborn girl.
In his complaint, Biswal stated that he had admitted his wife Samita to the hospital for delivery early in the morning. At around 10.30 am, the hospital staff informed him and his family about the delivery of a baby boy but when they were handed the child, they found that it was a baby girl.
Alleging negligence on the part of the medical staff, Biswal demanded a DNA test to ascertain the truth. He also refused to take the baby until the matter was investigated properly.
“I suspect our child was swapped as another delivery had taken place around the same time. Examination of CCTV footage and DNA test should be done to bring the truth out,” he stressed.
Terming the incident as unfortunate, Capital Hospital director Laxmidhar Sahu said he was told the complainant’s wife delivered a baby girl.
“But it was a slip of the tongue on the part of the attendant who said it was a boy while handing over the baby,” he added.
He, however, said a committee has been formed to probe into the incident and any lapses on the part of the staff would be viewed seriously.
“If needed, the matter would be taken up with police and steps taken for DNA test to ascertain the biological parents of the child,” Sahu added.