An eight-day-old infant allegedly went missing from the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) on Thursday.
As per reports, Sushant Barik and his wife Tikili Rani of Athabatia in Baliapal, had brought their eight-day-old baby boy to Balasore DHH on April 2 as he was suffering from Jaundice. Subsequently, the infant was admitted to the SNCU of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the DHH.
But the couple allegedly found him missing since 12 pm on Thursday. They launched a frantic search for the infant but to no avail. With no option left, they lodged a missing report at the hospital police outpost. Registering a case, the police have launched a probe.
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“The day before yesterday, we admitted him to the ICU. He was taken out of the ICU yesterday and was undergoing treatment in the ward. While I kept a watch on him during the day, my wife remained awake at night. Today I went out to bring food and on my return I found my child missing,” alleged Sushant.
Besides the police, the DHH authorities have also initiated a probe.
When contacted, the public health officer of the DHH, Dr Mrutyunjay Mishra admitted that the infant was missing.
“The infant might have been taken by somebody else when it was unattended. There are CCTV cameras but they are not functioning. Some days ago, they stopped working after a lightning strike. Now, investigation is underway and action will be taken against those found guilty,” said Dr Mishra.
(Reported by Prakash Mohanty)