Rashmita (in green sari) and Nirupama (extreme left) at SCB Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, May 2: The blood samples of two mothers, apart from their newborns that had allegedly been swapped at SCB Medical College and Hospital here, were collected for DNA test.

Blood samples were drawn in presence of high court registrar (vigilance) B.K. Das and other officials of the hospital.

“According to the high court order, the blood samples were collected for DNA test. The sealed samples would soon be produced before court and later be sent to Central Forensic Laboratory in Hyderabad,” said a senior official of the hospital.

On April 24, the high court had ordered for a DNA test to ascertain the biological parents of an abandoned girl child, who is under the care of the hospital authorities from the time of her birth at the hospital.

The court had ordered for the test after Sushanta Mallick had filed a petition alleging his wife Rashmita, who had delivered a boy, was subsequently substituted with a girl child on March 30. The results of the DNA test are expected within two months.

Since then, the girl child has been kept at the Special Neonatal Care Unit of the hospital and the authorities are now contemplating to shift the baby.

“My wife gave birth to a male child and my mother saw the baby. Hence when we were handed over a girl child, we had refused to accept her,” said Sushanta, adding that they are ready to accept the girl child if the DNA test proves that the child belongs to them.

Earlier, the high court had also made one Nirupama and her husband Sukanta of Kumari village in Jajpur district parties in the alleged baby swapping case as the woman had given birth to a male child nearly an hour prior to the delivery of Rashmita.

Hospital records indicate that on March 30, Nirupama gave birth to a male child around 4.10pm while Rashmita gave birth to a female child around 5.20pm.

On the other hand, Nirupama and Sukanta, who had come to the hospital, along with their newborn boy for DNA test, refused to comment on the issue.

However, Sukant’s elder brother Gadadhar Mallick said the unnecessary controversy had disturbed the peace of his brother’s family. “It was only after 10 days that they came to know about the so-called baby swapping incident. We will definitely file a defamation case against the other couple if the DNA test proves that it is our child,” he said.