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'Baby
of Ranjani' is not this Ranjani's, says hospital The child was born prematurely on November 25 last year and warded at the hospital's Premature Baby Unit. When the tsunami hit the hospital, the baby was transferred to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital. But the woman, identified as S.M. Ranjani, says she lost track of the child. Ranjani, who was already a mother of five, did not give up the search for her new-born sixth. After three months of search, she said she found the child in Ward Number 36 of the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital. But hospital authorities dismissed her claim, saying she did not have sufficient proof to claim the child. Hospital Director Dr. Shelton Perera told The Sunday Times the woman did not have proper documents to prove her claim. "Why did she take three months to find her baby?" he asked. However he said the baby was registered as 'Baby of Ranjani'. "We are not sure whether this woman is that Ranjani." Dr. Perera said if the woman came with necessary proof, she could get the child. Relating her side of the story, Ranjani told The Sunday Times: "My baby girl was born at the Mahamodara Hospital on November 25 in Ward 27. She was born prematurely in the fifth month of my pregnancy and kept in the Premature Baby Unit. She weighed 750 grams. On December 24, I left the hospital because I had to take care of my other children. So I asked the Probation and Child Care Commission (PCCC) to take care of the child temporarily. But they could not take charge of the child because it was still being treated at the Premature Baby Unit. "Two days later, the tsunami hit the hospital and the Premature Baby Unit was destroyed."When the water level receded, I went to the hospital and found my baby missing. No one told me about the transfer of the child. After a three-month search, I found the baby at the Karapitiya Hospital. She had been well looked after and she had got new clothes too. But when I claimed that it was my baby, the hospital authorities said that I needed to prove that the child was mine and they refused to hand over the baby. I have appealed to the PCCC, the Police and human rights groups to intervene and help me get my baby back." Meanwhile, Galle's PCCC chief A.K.I. Amarasiri had sent a letter to the Karapitiya Hospital director requesting him to hand over the child to the parents. The letter states: "A probation officer had examined the child after birth as the child was under-weight. During this examination, the mother had requested the PCCC to keep the child in a children's home as she was too poor to look after the child. The PCCC could not take the custody of the child because she was still being treated at the Premature Baby Unit." The PCCC chief also says the parents of the child had produced the temporary birth certificate issued by the hospital. However, even after the intervention of the PCCC, the hospital authorities refused to hand over the child. They now say they are going to courts. In the child's birth certificate, the name of the child has been given as Tharushika Kumuduni and the names of the parents as Welhenega Raja (father) and Samarakody Mudiyanselaga Ranjani (mother). The Mahamodara Hospital has been entered as the place of birth. Mahamodara Hospital Director Dr. Priyani Senadheera claimed the mother had abandoned the baby after giving birth. She said the woman had come later and collected the necessary documents but not the baby. "With no one to take custody of the baby, we transferred the baby to Karapitiya Hospital," she said. Meanwhile, on March 10 the baby was brought to the Eye Hospital in Colombo to treat for retinal associated problem related to premature birth. As the Eye Hospital didn't have the proper equipment to feed the baby, the baby was transferred to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. Inspector Nanayakkara of the Police Children and Womens' Bureau said moves were under way to take the dispute to the Galle Magistrate’s Court. The case before the judge is simple. He has to only order a DNA test - as in the case of Baby Abilash a.k.a Baby 81 of Kalmunai - and give a ruling based on the report. |
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