Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

Child swapping: DNA test proves allegations wrong

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD OCT. 25. K. Padma and Sailu, whose allegations of their baby boy being swapped for a girl proved wrong following the DNA fingerprinting test reports, were handed over their daughter here on Saturday.

No case was booked against the couple hailing from Nalgonda district whose accusations of child swapping on October 19 created much brouhaha. "The couple didn't have a malafide intention. However, we'll not hesitate to register criminal cases in such incidents if it is proved that parents deliberately made false charges," the East Zone DCP, P. V. Sunil Kumar, said.

The police concluded the baby girl belonged to the couple as their DNA fingerprints matched with that of the girl in the tests conducted by the A.P. Forensic Science Laboratory. Samples were also sent to the Centre for DNA and Fingerprints Diagnostics (CDFD) for similar test. However, report from the CDFD is awaited.

The charges by the couple and their family members that Padma's baby boy was swapped for a girl within hours of delivery at the Koti Government Maternity Hospital on October 19 sent the official machinery into a tizzy. With the sensational child swapping case of the Nayapul Government Maternity Hospital still fresh in memory, the higher-ups ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident. The Lok Ayukta, Justice, R. Ramanujam, made a surprise visit to the hospital the next day and took stock of the situation.

The Sultan Bazar police registered a cheating case following a complaint from the couple's family members who stuck to their guns notwithstanding explanation by the hospital authorities. According to Padma's mother-in-law, Sattemma, she saw "a baby boy in the hands of hospital staff from a distance." After shifting the baby to another building as it developed some complications, "they handed over us a girl whom we refused to accept," she had contended then.

Subsequently, the baby girl was shifted to Niloufer hospital for treatment. The baby girl and the couple were sent to the APFSL and the CDFD for tests. The report by the APFSL proved the couple's contention wrong. "I was mistaken and am totally convinced about the parenthood now," said Sattemma while accepting the baby girl from the Niloufer hospital superintendent, N. C. K. Reddy, in the presence of the police and media persons. Along with Sattemma and Sailu, the Sultan Bazar ACP, T. Saibaba, went to the Koti Maternity Hospital and handed over the baby to Padma. The couple will leave for their village on Sunday.

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