Three months after the Sion Hospital baby theft incident,the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday accepted that it is a clear case of negligence but also maintained that it would not compensate the stolen infants parents,Mohan and Mohini Nerurkar. The decision was made during the BMCs standing committee meet. The High Court had asked the civic body to pay at least Rs 10 lakh as immediate compensation to Nerurkars. The civic body would file an affidavit in this regard before the next hearing on March 18. It is still not clear as to who is to be held responsible for it (the theft). So,how can we just pay the compensation to the parents when the culprit is not booked, said Standing Committee Chairperson Ravindra Waikar. How can we suspend anyone when things are still not clear,the incident is more of a criminal nature, Waikar added. Earlier,when the BMC refused to pay the compensation,the court had directed its Commissioner Jairaj Phatak to state this on the affidavit before the next hearing. The initial inquiry conducted by the BMC has blamed the security machinery at the hospital but gave a clean chit to the doctor and nurses in charge of the ward when the theft took place. The civic bodys standing committee also decided to close the gates as a measure for stricter security. We dont know who should be blamed the doctor who was on duty or the head of the department. In any case,we will close all the gates of the hospital to check the influx of the people. It will be cumbersome for the visitors,but this is a necessary step that we have to take, said Waikar. A three-day-old boy was kidnapped from the hospitals maternity ward in January. The parents of the baby boy had filed a habeas corpus after all attempts to trace the baby failed. They were also seeking response from the hospital,the state and from the police investigating the matter to trace the baby.
