Mumbai:
On January 12 every year, the Chauhan household celebrates a birthday. The candles are lit, the cake is cut and chocolates are distributed among the neighbours. The supposedly happy occasion is deeply scarred by a touch of irony though.
The only person missing from the party is the birthday boy. He has not been part of the party for the last seven years.
Prakash Chauhan, 30, and wife Vidya, 28, lost their baby boy just two days after he was born at JJ hospital. The baby was stolen and never found.
It was seven years ago. The story has become far too common in the civic hospitals of the city now.
"My daughter-in-law cries everytime she hears that a baby has been stolen. We had to give up our case after pursuing it for two years. We had nobody influential enough to back us in our fight with the hospital administration. We spent lakhs of rupees for the search, but to no avail,'' said Maniben Chauhan, 58, the grandmother.
Vidya's child was born on January 12, 2003. The family had lodged a police complaint after he was stolen, but nothing happened.
"We had named him Sahil. We do not know where he is, but we pray that God takes good care of our child. We still celebrate his birthday every January," she said.
Maniben, however, does not advise parents to give up. People should not lose hope.
"They must fight with the administration till the logical end; otherwise such cases will be on the rise and nobody will get justice," she added.
Last week, two-month-old Mishra was stolen from VN Desai Hospital. A year ago, Mohini Nerurkar's four-day-old baby was stolen from Sion hospital and they are still fighting with the hospital administration.
"How can I forget my son? But I am helpless. Why can't the state and the BMC-run hospitals take strong security initiatives? If the authorities had taken strict action against the errant official, another child would not have been stolen," said Prakash.
Vidya is still disconsolate. "We have nothing, apart from the memory. I have suffered the pain of losing my son," she said.
The couple had their second baby, a boy, two years later. Vidya insisted on delivering her second child at JJ Hospital itself. The boy, Jitesh, studies in the first standard of an English medium school.
The Chauhan family is not taking any chances with his security. They keep an eye on him all the time.
Copyright restricted. Under license from
www.3dsyndication.com