A girl born in critical condition at Malout Civil Hospital on May 4 continues to fight for her life, while her family of migrant workers has refused to accept responsibility for her, alleging that hospital authorities exchanged their baby boy for a girl after birth.
Meanwhile, the infant has been shifted to a private hospital due to her critical condition, and local MLA-cum-Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr Baljit Kaur has assured the hospital authorities that the department will bear the treatment expenses.
She visited the private hospital today to enquire about the infant’s well-being. “Today is Mother’s Day, and, shockingly, a mother has refused to accept her baby girl, who is battling for her life. The department will bear the expenses of her treatment,” she said.
The minister further expressed her inability to initiate legal action against the parents, saying that the law has no such provision.
“However, I appeal to the girl’s parents to take custody of her, or else the department will initiate the adoption process, after which they will not be able to reclaim custody,” said Baljit Kaur.
Meanwhile, doctors treating the infant said she suffered from a lack of oxygen supply to the brain and remains on ventilator support in critical condition.
They added that medical records, including a video recorded immediately after birth, confirming the child’s gender, are available.
The Civil Hospital authorities rejected the allegations of baby swapping and stated that all medical records clearly confirm that a girl was born.
Officials further revealed that the family had refused to sign certain relevant documents and had not returned to the hospital despite repeated attempts to contact them.
“When the family was called to complete documentation related to the baby’s treatment, they alleged that a boy had been born and refused to accept the girl child,” officials said.
Doctors said a DNA test would be the only way to resolve the dispute.
