Private nursing home staff accused of swapping babies

Kolkata: Tension ran high at a private nursing home in Dhakapara area of Nadia after the families of two women, who had respectively given birth to a child, accused the nursing home staff of swapping their babies.

The family of Himi Mondal, a resident of Naduria area who had given birth to a child, alleged that the hospital staff showed them a baby girl after the delivery. They were later told that the woman gave birth to a boy. On the other hand, the family of Parbati Gorai, who was admitted to the nursing home two days ago, alleged that they were told that she had given birth to a boy but were later shown a baby girl.

The families of both the women protested and alleged baby swapping inside the nursing home. They later lodged a complaint at the local police station. Both the families said that it was an attempt by a few hospital staff and that their babies were exchanged after the newborns were taken to another ward. The protest was lifted after the police arrived and assured them to carry out an independent probe into the incident. The nursing home authorities denied the allegation and said that it was

baseless. The families of the victims demanded DNA tests to ascertain the identities of the babies.

The nursing home authorities later assured that they will carry out an investigation to deduce whether there was any negligence on the part of the nursing home staff.