Bhubaneswar: In a shocking incident, a Cuttack-based private hospital here held a newborn hostage after its mother failed to foot the bill against all medical expenses Sunday.
The matter came to the fore after the hapless mother, hailing for Salia Sahi in Bhubaneswar, returned home without the baby and registered a written complaint with the Nayapalli police station with help of relatives.
Even as the woman requested that her husband would come and pay the bills, the hospital authorities allegedly did not allow the woman to take her child, she alleged.
Even shocking is that the medical authorities have not yet revealed if the victim has delivered a baby boy or a girl. She feared that they might claim it was a stillborn baby after she pays all her medical expenses.
According to the complainant, Pramita Pradhan of Hatiasuni slum in Salia Sahi, here had a second marriage after the death of her first husband. She has a two-year-old son from her first marriage. Her second husband owns a shop in the locality.
Sources said, Pramita experienced labour pain a few days back. On the pretext of arranging a vehicle to take her to hospital, her second husband left but did not return home.
With no option left, Pramita herself called up an ambulance and got admitted to Capital Hospital. After preliminary treatment, doctors referred her to SCB Medical College and hospital in Cuttack.
However, she was lured by some middlemen in the hospital and taken to a private hospital in Cuttack where she delivered a child.
But she had not a penny with her to pay off the hospital bill. The hospital authorities then discharged her, threatening to take her child after depositing the bill amount. The authority even did reveal is her newborn was a boy or a girl even as she pleaded with them.
Pramita had no other way but to return home and later lodged a complaint with Nayapalli police. On the other hand, her husband has been absconding since the day she experienced labour pain over reasons best known to him.
Distressed Pramita said, “I will get back my child after depositing the money, but it is possible only when the police find out my husband.”
PNN