Labourers Nagaraj and Lalitha were delighted to have a baby boy after seven years of marriage. On Tuesday morning, however, their one-day-old infant was kidnapped from the Vani Vilas Hospital. Lax hospital security has been blamed for the incident.
Nagaraj and Lalitha, residents of the Mapireddy Palya and natives of Gobbur village, Devadurga taluk, Raichur, were in the city as they were working on a construction site at Chandra Layout. “The baby was born yesterday. Till Tuesday morning, he was with me.
On Monday, a woman, aged about 25, dressed as a doctor, approached me and told me that the baby had pimples that could be cured with a certain oil. She urged me to use the oil as pimples on a new-born, she said, should not be left unattended. She promised to arrive on Tuesday with the oil.
On Tuesday morning, she returned and said she would fetch the oil from the medical store within the hospital. She took the baby, and told members of my family that none of us would be allowed there, so we stayed back. I thought that the doctor had taken the baby, and never expected that I would lose him,” said Lalitha.
When the woman did not return after a long time, the family approached hospital authorities. Authorities refused to come to the aid of the couple, arguing that they could barely keep watch over so many people who streamed in and out.
The Victoria Hospital police station refused to file a complaint, saying that the hospital superintendent was required to file such
cases.
As the distraught and powerless family attempted to argue with authorities, security guards posted at the hospital pushed them around and beat them. Some hospital staff even went so far as to suggest that the baby was sold. Security supervisor at Vani Vilas, Jagadish, said that he had no clue how such an incident happened, and no woman matching the description offered by the couple was seen leaving the premises.
The ward from which the baby went missing had no CCTV.
Medical superintendent, OS Siddappa, said, “I will definitely make arrangements for two more cameras in the ward from where the child went missing.”
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