LAHORE: Kidnapping of newborns continue at government hospitals here as another two were allegedly abducted from two health facilities on Saturday.

A woman admitted to Lady Aitchison Hospital alleged her newborn had been kidnapped by an unidentified woman.

Shamsa Khurram had delivered a boy three days ago and doctors shifted him to a nursery for further care. On Saturday, the family found out the baby had disappeared from the nursery. Relatives protested and alleged the baby had been kidnapped with the connivance of hospital employees.

The hospital management’s initial inquiry confirmed the disappearance of the baby.

Lady Aitchison Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Waqar Bajwa said an unidentified woman accompanied Shamsa and her relatives at the time of her admission to the hospital.

Quoting the initial inquiry, he said on Saturday morning the woman took the baby to a ward for an injection and then returned him to the family. Later, she managed to get a photocopy of the national identity card of the baby’s father, he claimed.

The MS said the woman later used the photocopy to get a gate pass made and took the baby out of the hospital. He denied allegations of involvement of any employee in the incident.

CCTV footage captured a woman leaving the health facility with a baby. The hospital administration handed over the footage to police for identity of the woman and her arrest.

Meanwhile, angry relatives of a woman smashed windowpanes of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital alleging the staff had switched their newborn with a dead one. They also allegedly thrashed some employees of the hospital in protest when the emergency director locked his office instead of addressing their complaint.

Witnesses said Saba delivered a baby at the gynae ward on Saturday, however, the baby could not survive due to multiple complications and died instantly. The woman and her relatives were not informed about the incident.

Meanwhile, another woman Rukhsana gave birth at the same time to a baby that too died due to health issues.

The witnesses said a hospital employee told Saba’s relatives their baby had been mistakenly handed over to Rukhsana’s family. Later, doctors conveyed to Saba about the death of her baby.

The contradiction led to confusion and Saba’s relatives raised an alarm that their baby had been kidnapped. They further alleged doctors had switched their baby with the dead one born to Rukhsana.

Instead of addressing the issue promptly, the witnesses said, the emergency director locked his office and disappeared to avoid the wrath of the people, which further enraged them.

Civil Lines Station House Officer Abid Rasheed reached the hospital and dispersed the protesters peacefully, assuring them the matter would be addressed within hours.

He told Dawn the issue had been resolved. He claimed the two women had delivered almost at the same time and their babies could not survive. A misunderstanding due to contradiction in the information by hospital employees led to the incident.

This was the fourth such incident at the abovementioned two government hospitals during the last one month alone.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2014