FSL report puts to rest accusations of baby swap

The Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Mumbai has confirmed that there was no baby swap at KEM Hospital, and that the girl child is indeed the biological child of Seema Devi and Sunil Kumbhar. The couple had suspected that their newborn boy was swapped for a girl at the hospital.

MUMBAI: The doubts over the parentage of a girl child born in KEM Hospital in September were laid to rest after the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) in Kalina confirmed that there was no baby swap as claimed by the parents. The DNA reports confirmed that the girl was the biological child of Seema Devi and Sunil Kumbhar, who had claimed that their newborn boy was swapped for a girl at the civic hospital.

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On Friday, during a hearing on the petition filed by Sunil Kumbhar, additional public prosecutor PP Shinde tendered a copy of DNA analysis reports submitted by the FSL, confirming that the girl child was indeed of the Kumbhar couple. Kumbhar had moved high court through advocate Manoj R Gowd, for verification of the child’s parentage, suspecting that their baby was swapped at the hospital. The bench of justice Revati Mohite Dere and justice Gauri Godse then went on to dispose of the petition.

The Kumbhars, who hail from Uttar Pradesh, had a child through C-section at KEM hospital on September 26. According to Kumbhar’s petition, soon after the birth, a nurse informed his brother that Seema Devi had given birth to a boy. However, a nurse later came out with a baby girl and told Sunil that his wife had delivered the girl child and took signatures on two papers transferring the liability of the girl child to Sunil and Seema.

As Seema heard the cries of two children being born at the same time, suspicions arose among the family members that the child was switched at birth. Puzzled by the contradictory information, the couple sought permission to meet the dean of the hospital to clear the air. The request was, however, never honoured, the petition added.

An upset Sunil went to the Bhoiwada police station to ask for their assistance in uncovering the truth and in securing Seema’s hospital discharge. The police recorded Seema’s statement, but no material action was taken despite persistent efforts, according to Kumbhar.

The police, however, had a different story to tell. They said their preliminary inquiry proved that this is a classic case of miscommunication. The ward assistant informed the woman’s relative of the birth of a ‘bachcha’. Although this was used in a gender-neutral context, they mistook it to mean a boy. Moreover, as she was the only woman who gave birth via C-section on the day between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., there was no room for a mix-up, police officials said.

Unsatisfied with the explanation, Sunil made applications to KEM Hospital to allow independent DNA tests, which were never replied to. Dissatisfied with the inaction of police and hospital authorities, the couple then approached the Bombay High Court.

Acting on their petition, on November 3, the High Court had ordered the police to collect samples from the girl child and the couple for DNA analysis so as to determine the parentage of the girl child. It further ordered the Kumbhars to take care of the girl until the forensic reports came.

On Friday, the forensic reports put the controversy to rest. For the family, the news ended months of living with a question mark over their heads. “If the court has said the baby is ours, we will accept it. They wouldn’t say something false,” said Sunil Kumbhar, who works as an AC technician.

“I only went through this hassle of filing a police complaint and going to the High Court because I was told in the hospital that we had had a baby boy. It is not that I didn’t want a girl,” said Kumbhar. “I am now convinced that the baby girl is ours.”

During the day, he informed his wife, Seemadevi, who is currently in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh about the development and she was happy about it, he added. Once the mother and baby are back in the city, the family will begin proceedings of making the child’s birth certificate and formally naming her as ‘Shivani’, the name that they have chosen for her.