Blow to Mamata: Newborn stolen from a govt hospital

A newborn baby was stolen from the government-run Kolkata Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday dealing a blow to Mamata Banerjee’s government that is up in arms against private hospitals for their malpractices.

The government had been planning to check “malpractices” in private hospitals and nursing homes across the state and brought a bill in the Legislative assembly recently establish control over such hospitals.

It is learnt that one Swarasti Naskar, a resident of Bagmari Road in Ultadanga area, gave birth to a baby boy on March 4 in the Eden Wards, situated on the third floor of the reputed government-run hospital in the city.

The relatives of Swarasti alleged that a lady wearing a green sari asked her on Tuesday afternoon that she would have to take the baby to another ward for administering the booster dose of injection. Swarasti, in good faith, went with the lady with her baby. When both of them went to another ward, the lady asked Swarasti to bring her blood report from the office.

After receiving the blood report, Swarasti came back to the ward, but she could not find the lady or her baby. The relatives of Swarasti got agitated and they staged a demonstration in front of the office of the superintendent of the hospital.

Rabi Naskar, the father-inlaw of Swarasti, alleged that the child was stolen in connivance with a section of nursing staff, ayahs and security guards. He wondered how the lady disappeared even in the presence of CCTV surveillance. Rabi Naskar also alleged that they were pressurised to appoint an ayah, but the authorities refused their request.