Tension and chaos gripped Belonia Hospital in South Tripura on Monday after a one month and eight days old baby – Pransur Sen – disappeared for several hours from the pediatric ward of the Hospital.
The mother of the baby, Deepika Sen pointed fingers at his brother-in-law, Abhijit Sen. Expressing her distress, she alleged that he had taken away the baby without her knowledge or permission, although she could not tell his motives behind such an act.
Meantime, other patients and relatives present in the Hospital started questioning the security arrangement of the Hospital. How a man can take away a baby from the Hospital without informing the concerned authority, asked agitating patients. Hospital staffs were perplexed and were clueless. The mother was crying and demanding immediate arrangement for a safe return of her baby.
After a few agonizing hours, Abhijit returned to the ward of the Hospital with the baby and reunited Pransur with his mother. Deepika was quick to pick up the baby from Abhijit and held the baby tightly.
Facing media scrutiny over the alleged ‘abduction’, Abhijit refuted any malicious intent. He clearly mentioned, “I did not steal the baby”. He went on explain further, “My family has a strained relationship with my sister-in-law (Deepika), but my mother wanted to see her grandson. So I took the baby to show her and returned the baby”.
As the safe return of Pransur to his mother brought relief to hospital staff and authorities, more about the plight of Deepika came to the fore.
Pransur had been receiving treatment in the pediatric ward for several days prior to today’s incident. While the baby’s father, Bishwajit Sen, and paternal grandmother had not visited hospital to see the baby, Abhijit had been a frequent presence at the hospital.
It was learnt, Deepika and Bishwajit, residents of the Rishyamukh Gajaria area in South Tripura under Belonia, were married in a socially recognized ceremony two years ago. Family tensions appear to have played a role in the unfolding of events, as Deepika and Bishwajit have been experiencing ongoing marital discord.
The couple faced difficulties, particularly, due to strained relations with Bishwajit’s mother. This conflict ultimately led Deepika to move back to her parental home in Shripur before giving birth. Sources claimed, owing to the bitter relation, Pransur’s father and grandmother did not visit the hospital to see the baby.
But the action of Abhijit has raised serious concerns relating to the security of the hospital.
