Cuttack: The Child Welfare Committee here has registered a case in connection with the alleged baby swapping at the obstetrics and gynaecology department of SCB Medical College and Hospital.

Committee member Pradip Patnaik on Wednesday said it had taken cognisance of the allegation and registered the case.

"We have started the proceedings to find out whether there was swapping of babies after Madhusmita Mohapatra from Balichandrapur in Jajpur district gave birth to a child on January 26 and sought a report from police on the matter," Patnaik said.

"We expect Manglabag police station, where Madhusmita's husband had lodged a complaint, to inquire into the matter by examining the CCTV footages in the hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology department and if nothing comes out of it, go for a DNA test to ascertain the veracity of the allegations," he said.

The committee moved in on Tuesday after Madhusmita supported by her husband Prahallad had continued to refuse to accept the girl child, whom she had, according to hospital authorities, given birth five days ago.

The committee has asked the couple to keep the baby girl in their custody till the case is resolved.

According to the complaint lodged by Prahallad, Madhusmita was admitted in the indoor ward of the obstetrics and gynaecology department on January 26. She delivered a baby through Caesarean operation in the afternoon. Following delivery, the family members of Madhusmita were not allowed to visit the bed allotted to her in the ward.

The family members were not informed about the gender of the newborn for around one hour. His wife delivered a baby boy, but the hospital employees had swapped his baby and placed a newborn girl near her bed, Prahallad alleged in his complaint.

Inspector-in-charge Arun Kumar Swain said: "We have registered a case under section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code and started our inquiry." "As part of the inquiry, we have already examined the CCTV footages made available by the hospital authorities, but no swapping of baby was evident from them," Swain said.

"If nothing comes to the fore, we will seek permission of the magistrate to conduct DNA test of the complainant's wife and the girl child she was refusing to accept," he said.

The hospital authorities have maintained that there is no question of any exchange of babies as January 26 was a holiday and Madhusmita was the only patient, who delivered a baby through Caesarean operation on that day.