Jhansi: A tragic fire in the NICU ward of Jhansi Medical College has left 11 newborns dead, exposing glaring lapses in hospital safety and security. The incident has shaken families to the core, with one new mother, Shanti, mysteriously disappearing amid the chaos. Her husband, Kriparam, is now desperately searching for his missing wife after getting reunited with his newborn son, who narrowly survived the blaze.
Kriparam, a resident of Gorpura village in the Garautha police station area, had brought his wife to the hospital for delivery. On November 7, Shanti gave birth to a baby boy in the gynaecology ward. However, the child began having convulsions shortly after birth and was admitted to the NICU for intensive care.
According to Kriparam, the next day, Shanti disappeared without informing anyone. Later, an auto driver contacted him, saying Shanti was lost and with them, but her phone has since been switched off. Despite efforts to locate her, including a review of CCTV footage from the bus stand, her whereabouts remain unknown. Amid this distress, tragedy struck on Friday when a fire broke out in the NICU ward. Initially, Kriparam believed his newborn was lost in the flames, adding to his anguish.
However, amid the evacuation efforts, a baby was rescued but remained unclaimed. Hospital officials used the tag on the child’s hand to trace his relatives, contacting Lakshmi and Mahendra, a couple from Bamer in Jhansi’s Raksa area. Believing the child to be theirs, Lakshmi and her sister-in-law Vandana took him to a private nursing home for treatment.
Later , Vandana admitted she had mistakenly picked up the baby from the ward during the fire, assuming he was their own. She and Lakshmi spent money on his treatment, only to later realize their error when contacted by the hospital.
When Kriparam and his sister Sheela arrived to identify the rescued child, they immediately recognized him as their missing son. Hospital records confirmed their claim, reuniting the baby with his biological family.
While Kriparam is relieved to have found his son, the mystery of his missing wife persists. He explained that Shanti, originally from Bihar, has been mentally disturbed and unable to communicate properly. A missing persons report has been filed at Navabad police station, but there has been no breakthrough yet.
The District Magistrate assured the public that all children affected by the fire have been accounted for. “No child is missing now; the identities of all rescued children have been verified by their families,” he said.
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