DNA test ends parentage row, girl finds home

After DNA tests established her parentage, the baby girl who was abandoned 10 days ago in a city hospital, was returned to her actual parents Poonam Kanwar and Chain Singh.

After DNA tests established her parentage, the baby girl who was abandoned 10 days ago in a city hospital, was returned to her actual parents Poonam Kanwar and Chain Singh.

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Following a mix-up, hospital staff had handed over a baby boy to Kanwar and Singh on March 25 and a baby girl to Reshmi Devi and Sagar Ram. Soon after they realised their mistake and swapped the babies, but Kanwar refused to believe she had given birth to a girl and kicked up a fuss.

The next day, her husband Singh filed a case at Khanda Phalsa police station against the hospital administration.

In the following days as both couples fought over the boy, the baby girl languished in the nursery unit.

She could not be breastfed either as the hospital staff insisted on a written consent from the couples before handing over the baby for breastfeeding.

On April 2, the Rajasthan high court took cognisance of the media reports and ordered that a DNA test be conducted to ascertain the parentage of the girl. The court also directed the police to file a case against the baby's biological parents under the sections of Domestic Violence Act.