Three days after a three-day-old baby girl was abandoned at the outpatient ward of Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here, police are yet to trace her parents.
According to the police, an unidentified couple left the infant near counter number seven of the outpatient department on the premises on Friday. A security staff at the hospital found the baby lying under a stone bench and informed the authorities who shifted it to the paediatric ward.
The CCTV footage available with the hospital is of no use as the quality is too low.
In the video footage a couple are seen wandering on the premises looking for a place to abandon the baby, but their identity could not be established.
Purpose defeatedThe purpose of installing the cameras was not served, said a senior police official.
“However, the child is healthy and is being taken care of by the hospital staff,” he added.
Generally, people dump babies near the government cradle situated inside the hospital. But, the presence of security personnel near the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (OG) ward had forced the couple to leave the baby near the OP ward.
It may be recalled that a day-old baby boy was stolen from the post-natal ward at the GRH last year, and the police have so far not secured the woman who was involved in the crime, owing to the low quality of image captured by the camera installed in the ward.
About three years back, the hospital had installed 32 cameras, of which four have become faulty.
Recently, several cases of vehicle theft were reported inside the hospital. In one of them, the CCTV had captured the suspect, yet it did not lead to the arrest of the accused, sources said.
When contacted, a senior official at the GRH said, “Most cameras on the premises are outdated and can only be used for monitoring purpose. We have asked the company that maintains the cameras to carry out repair works,” he added.
