Shimla: Five months after swap, babies return to their original parents

SHIMLA: A baby boy and a baby girl, "swapped" in the state-run Kamla Nehru Hospital on May 26, were handed over to their biological parents today, exactly after five months, following an amicable settlement between the parties in the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The petitioner, Sheetal, had alleged that she had given birth to a child on the night of May 26 and the nurse had told her it was a baby boy. But, after about 20-25 minutes, a baby girl was handed over to her. DNA tests of both the babies and their biological parents were conducted at the state Forensic Science Laboratory at Junga and the reports established that the complainant couple -- Anil Kumar and Sheetal -- who had alleged that their baby had been exchanged, were the biological parents of the baby boy. The couple -- Anjana Thakur and Jitender Thakur -- who were handed over the male child, were made respondents in the case by the court. Both the couples stated before the court that they arrived at an amicable settlement in view of the investigation report and have decided to exchange the babies on October 26 after performing some religious ceremonies. The court had directed the Shimla SP to take the investigation to its logical end at the earliest and had also asked the head of the concerned department at the hospital to conclude the departmental enquiry and file suggestions on steps to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. (With PTI inputs)