One family is now demanding their child back, while the other refuses to return the baby. According to hospital information, on 23 January, Shabana Qureshi, wife of Altaf Qureshi, a resident of Durg, and Sadhna Singh , wife of Shailendra Singh, a resident of Bhilai, both delivered baby boys. One baby was born at 1:25 PM, and the other 9 minutes later at 1:34 PM.
To identify the babies, tags bearing their mothers’ names were placed on their hands. As part of the procedure, photographs of both newborns were taken with their mothers after birth. The nurses then handed the babies over to their mothers. However, a mistake occurred during this process.
Sadhna’s baby was given to Shabana, and Shabana’s baby was given to Sadhna. Both mothers were then discharged. Thus, the Hindu baby went home with the Muslim family, and the Muslim baby went home with the Hindu family.
The incident came to light a week later when Shabana returned to the hospital to have her stitches removed. Azhar Qureshi, Shabana’s brother-in-law, explained that Shabana was admitted on 21 January. On 1 February, when she went for stitch removal, she noticed a tag on the baby’s hand that read “Sadhna”. It then became clear that the baby they had was Sadhna’s. After showing the baby to the hospital, the doctor on duty checked the photographs from that day.
It was then confirmed that the babies had been exchanged. The baby with Shabana was indeed Sadhna’s; a birthmark on the baby confirmed this. Azhar Qureshi stated, “We want the baby to be returned to its rightful parents. If they wish to confirm, we are willing to undergo a DNA test. We just want our baby back, and they should get their baby back.”
