The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Vain wait for stolen son

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 18, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Vain wait for stolen son

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MARCH 17. In the dormitory of Niloufer Hospital, she sits alone, looking expectantly at everyone walking into the hospital. Her hope is fading fast and tears have gone dry. "I have been waiting for a week now, hoping somebody will bring back my dear Arjun," she says with a forlorn look.

Shiva Kanya Chalak's five-month-old son, Arjun was stolen from the hospital premises on Saturday. She was staying in a shed on the hospital campus while Arjun, who was undergoing treatment for a cold, was allegedly taken away by two women who cheated her with some glib talk.

Hoping against hope

According to her, the women befriended her and one took her out while the other slipped away with the child. "I have not seen my son for six days. I do not know how he is," she says. The local police has registered a case and promised action but nothing has materialised so far. "I do not know if I will ever be able to see my son."

Her daily schedule for the last week comprised a visit to the police station to enquire if they made any progress in the case and then a long wait at the hospital expecting a miracle. She scans every woman visiting the hospital and stares hard at the infants in their arms. "I wonder if Arjun has been fed today," the mother mumbles.

Suffering alone

Shiva Kanya is alone in her misery. She had left her parents for a husband who vanished when she was pregnant. And now, her only possession is also gone. Grief makes her philosophical. "Perhaps, I am not destined to be have relations."

Meanwhile, Nampally police have put up banners on the hospital premises asking visitors to be wary of child lifters.

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