Burqa-clad women will be checked at Mumbai civic hospitals

On a day the Shiv Sena called for a ban on burqa, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said women visiting civic hospitals in veils will be checked. The move comes after a burqa-clad woman kidnapped a two-month-old boy from the civic-run VN Desai hospital in Santa Cruz on Friday.

The BMC cited a Supreme Court (SC) order issued in January, which said women cannot be issued voter identity cards if they refuse to lift their veils to be photographed.

“Following the SC order, the election commission appointed two women officers to lift the veils of women who came to vote wearing a burqa. The BMC will also deploy two lady security personnel in civic-run hospitals to check burqa-clad women,” a senior BMC official told DNA.

“Women in veils will have to show their faces to the security personnel,” Rahul Shevale, standing committee chairman, said.

“In the VN Desai hospital case, despite CCTV footage, the culprit cannot be identified since the face is not visible,” the BMC official said.

BJP leader Shaina NC has called for an inquiry into the baby theft case. She insisted on tightening security at hospitals. “The BMC must check everyone who enters hospitals. Burqa is not a major issue,” she said.