Gitanjali Majhi lies pale in one corner of her bed at Sambalpur’s district hospital in Odisha. The 25-year-old had given birth to a baby boy on Thursday, but upon waking up the next morning , she found him missing from the cradle. CCTV footage in the hospital shows a woman, draped in a yellow shawl, sneaking out with what seems to be Gitanjani’s one-day-old baby.
The hospital has no system in place to screen visitors and almost anyone can venture deep into its premises, including the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) Ward. The wards are not even equipped with locks, leaving the premises susceptible to baby lifters and other miscreants.
We will try to install locks for the safety of patients. We are also mulling introducing gate passes to restrict unwarranted visitors from the hospital premises.Medical Officer, Government Hospital, Sambalpur
As Gitanjali remains in shock over the loss of her newborn, the district administration still seems unmoved by recent incidents of baby-lifting in the state. Earlier this month, police recovered two stolen babies, after bursting a baby-lifting nexus in Cuttack.
Video Editor: Mohd Ibrahim
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