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DNA Test Ends India Parents' Dispute Over Newborn Baby
BBC NEWS, INDIA
April 5, 2012: Results of a DNA test have ended an 11-day dispute over a newborn baby between two families in India. The test confirmed that Poonam Kanwar and husband Chain Singh were the parents of the baby girl who was left unwanted in a hospital in Jodhpur city. They had instead sought custody of a baby boy handed to them by mistake. The couple refused to accept the girl after accidentally being given the boy, who belonged to another couple, the hospital said. The two babies were born on the night of 25 March in the same hospital.
Correspondents say Indian society has a long history of discrimination against girls. Police presented the DNA report in a magistrate's court on Thursday. The magistrate read the report in the presence of Chain Singh and hospital officials. Chain Singh said he accepted the report and agreed to take the baby girl.
Mix-up
The initial mix-up happened in a communal delivery ward at the hospital. Reports said that hospital staff showed both women the same baby boy before taking him away for a check up. An hour later one of the women was presented with a baby girl. She insisted it was not hers, even after blood tests suggested that it was.
While the two families went to court, the baby girl stayed in the hospital. The BBC's Natalia Antelava says despite the initial rejection, things may yet work out for the baby girl, even if they do not for many others. This highly publicized case highlights the plight of millions of India's unwanted girls, our correspondent adds.
