The Hindu : Gets back her son, at last

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, May 13, 2003

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Gets back her son, at last

By Marri Ramu

A HAPPY REUNION: Lata Reddy, whose baby boy was swapped with a girl child at Nayapul Maternity Hospital in Hyderabad, seen with her baby on Monday . — Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

HYDERABAD May 12. When the young mother looked at the world desolately, the sadness spread to the entire country, its collective conscience numbed. But, she was no ordinary mother. And not the one to take it lying down.

Pining for her son, she refused to move out of the Government maternity hospital here till he was returned. The ordeal lasted 27 long days before the gritty mother and her infant son were re-united here on Monday.

After taking several twists and turns, the child swap case ended with the Charminar police tracing the baby boy at a petty vendor's house in Akbarbagh today. In a tearful reunion, Lata and Janga Reddy, a farming couple from Chinnagollapalli hamlet in the neighbouring Rangareddy district, got back their son, when Mahmooda Begum and Shaik Nazir, handed over the baby boy who was swapped for a baby girl born to them.

But, the case is far from over. ``Investigation is on to ascertain negligence and criminal intent on the part of Nayapul Maternity Hospital staff and the couple of Akbarbagh,'' the Additional Commissioner of Police, A.K. Khan, told presspersons. The two infants and their parents were sent to the city-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics for DNA tests to confirm their biological relationship.

However, the investigations show that the baby boy of Ms. Lata Reddy was found missing from the nursery of the maternity hospital where he was admitted on account of low birth weight. ``A sweeper of the nursery, Surendra Raju, told us that he handed over the baby boy to Ms. Mahmooda Begum on the instructions of a staff nurse, Suryakala'', Mr. Khan said.

Ms. Mahmooda Begum told police that she was not sure if it was a boy or girl she gave birth to as she lost consciousness soon after the delivery. ``There are flaws in her version. We are further questioning the couple,'' he said.

Police gathered details of all the babies born in the hospital between April 15 and 21, 44 of them in all. Adopting an elimination process, they zeroed in on four baby boys, including ``the son of Mahmooda Begum''.

However, the incomplete address entered in the hospital records made it difficult for them to immediately locate Ms. Mahmooda Begum. Barring her name and the area in which she lived, no other specific details were found.

Police verified the voters' list and collected the addresses of eight persons with the same name, Mahmooda, living in Akbarbagh. Meanwhile, a citizen tipped police, saying it was being speculated in his area that one Ms. Mahmooda Begum gave birth to a girl, but came home with a boy.

On Sunday, police knocked at the doors of Ms. Mahmooda. Today, accompanied by police, she went to the Nayapul hospital, and handed over the boy to Ms. Lata Reddy. Ms. Mehmooda took home her baby girl housed at the Niloufer hospital.

Meanwhile, another baby girl of Godavarikhani in Karimnagar district, who was allegedly swapped for a baby boy born to J. Rajeswari, is recuperating in the intensive care unit of Niloufer hospital in Hyderabad.

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