Residents take to roads after baby goes missing
GHAZIABAD: A newborn baby boy was stolen allegedly by an unidentified person from the ward of the community health centre (CHC), Muradnagar, early Saturday morning. Following the incident, a group of angry villagers blocked the Delhi-meerut Road for about four hours demanding action against the CHC staff and immediate tracing of the infant, police said.
The family of the three-dayold baby lodged an FIR under IPC Section 363 (kidnapping) at the Muradnagar police station and named two doctors and five staff of the CHC, besides four unidentified persons, in the case.
According to the family, Meenu (25) delivered a baby boy on August 25 at the CHC. The family suspects the role of unidentified people who were found visiting the ward.
“My wife, along with our boy, was sleeping on a bed. My mother was also sleeping on the same bed. About 4am, my wife woke up and found our child missing. The doctors and the hospital staff could not tell us how the child went missing from the ward,” said Sandeep Kumar, the boy’s father and a resident of Surana village. Kumar got married about one and half years ago and the missing boy was their first child, said family members.
Meanwhile, more than a hundred angry villagers went to the Delhi-meerut Road, just about 50 metres from the CHC, and blocked the Meerut-ghaziabad side of the road with tractor trolleys, seeking immediate police action in the case.
Police said the villagers tried to block the other side of the road as well. “We did not allow them to do so. The blockade started around 9.30am. We had to divert the traffic through the sides of the Upper Ganga Canal. Police finally cleared the road by 1.30pm and normal traffic was restored,” said Iraj Raja, superintendent of police (rural).
“We also lodged an FIR on the basis of a complaint given by the family,” Raja said. Police said they are scanning the footage of CCTV cameras installed at the premises of the health centre and also at nearby shops.
The FIR also named Dr Dinesh Kumar, the CHC’S in-charge who joined the facility four days ago. “We are also upset about the incident. It is unfortunate that the child went missing. Besides our staff on night duty, a guard was also present at the facility,” said Dr Kumar. He said from now on, a visitors register will be maintained with their names, addresses, and mobile phone numbers, among other details.
Kumar also said that the family had told them about an unidentified woman who visited the ward. “The family told us that the woman was wearing a mask and came to the ward two-three times. We have given all such details to police. The ward has eight beds, and at present all of them are occupied,” he said.
The family of the boy alleged that they had complained to the hospital staff about some suspicious persons, but no action was taken. “After the incident, the staff told us that they do not have password of the CCTV recording, and later they said the CCTV cameras were not working. It is due to the sheer negligence of the hospital staff that the child is missing,” said Ajit Singh, the child’s uncle.
Meanwhile, Ghaziabad chief medical officer Dr Bhavtosh Shankhdhar visited the CHC and suspended two staff. “A decision was taken to suspend a woman staffer and the sweeper of the hospital. Police investigation is on in the case,” he said.