Hyderabad, January 18: After a series of abductions of babies from Niloufer Hospital, hospital authorities have installed CCTVs on the premises.
“Round-the-clock security in the wards, CCTVs for regular monitoring and at least six police personnel have been deployed at the hospital,” said Nampally inspector Ch Sridhar.
However, a ground check revealed gross security lapses. It was found that although CCTVs had been installed, no arrangements were made for regular monitoring.
As per police, CCTV monitors are arranged in the hospital superintendent’s office.
However, neither the superintendent, his deputy nor the resident medical officers were available when Expresso paid a visit.
Meanwhile, the case of the sensational kidnap of a 11-month-old boy from the hospital in October, is as good as closed. With supposed ‘fool-proof’ security systems in place and rewards announced for information on the kidnappers, the police team has not been able to make any breakthrough. “We did every thing we could do. We published look-out notices in different regions and even announced rewards for the informant,” sighs Nampally sub-inspector, M Kistaiah.
The police search team was formed after a 11-year old boy, Ajay, was taken away by a burqa-clad woman, when the boy’s parents were attending to their elder son, under treatment for a severe kidney ailment.
With the hospital’s profile as the den of baby-lifters increasing rapidly, police officials remain confident they have established a fool-proof security system. Moreover, going by the superintendent’s version, CCTV footages are only used during investigations when such incidents occur. This proves that no round-the-clock surveillance is in place.
Citing the case of arrangement of identical tags tied to mother and child to ensure there is no theft, police said these basic rules were not being followed. “The hospital administration doesn’t seem to be keen to implement security suggestions as directed by police,” they lamented.
—Agencies