Govt reply sought over relief to mother in child missing case

MADURAI: It has been more than a year since 20-year-old Meenakshi Dinakaran's infant was allegedly abducted by a woman at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai.
And, till date there has been no trace of the missing child. Now, the woman has filed a petition before the Madras high court Madurai bench demanding Rs 20 lakh compensation.
Regarding this, she has prayed the court to issue a direction to the state's home secretary, health and family welfare secretary, DGP and GRH dean.The petitioner has also charged the police in her petition.
"After my child was kidnapped from the GRH, police themselves have stated in their report that many newborn babies went missing from government hospitals across the state in the recent past. Hence, I understood that many children are not only stolen for adoption purposes, but also for organ transplantation beyond the Indian territory," she said.
It is presumed that a common kingpin might be operating a gang worldwide. But, the police are yet to start investigation in that angle, the petitioner said.
Hence, the case should be entrusted to a specially trained team in the CB-CID which at present probes the case, she said.
"Besides, due to negligence and poor administration of hospital and lethargic attitude of the police, I have lost my child. Since then I have been undergoing mental agony, for which the hospital and the police are responsible. Hence, I should be given Rs 20 lakh compensation," the petitioner prayed.
When the matter came up before the division bench of justices S Manikumar and V S Ravi, the petitioner's counsel R Alagumani told the court that the petitioner's one-day-old male baby went missing from the GRH on June 15 last, but there was no improvement in tracing the child.
Following it, the bench ordered notice to be issued to the above-said officials and adjourned the matter.
It may be recalled that Meenakshi, from Bommapatti, who was admitted in the GRH, had given birth to her baby on June 14 through caesarean section.
After she was moved to the post-operative ward on June 15 morning, a woman, approached her stating that Meenakshi's relatives wanted to see the child and took it away. She apparently convinced Meenakshi by telling the names of their relatives. The woman disappeared from the spot quietly and took Meenakshi's case sheet too with her.
The incident exposed the lack of safety measures inside the maternity ward of GRH where child theft cases are reported often.
The post-operative ward, in particular, appears to be vulnerable as a few patients have spotted such suspicious women before.