Racket bust brings shady nursing homes under lens

KOLKATA: The unearthing of the baby trafficking racket has brought several city nursing homes under scanner. While the owners of two of them are now behind bars, at least a couple more are being screened.
Take the case of Sree Krishna Nursing Home on MG Road – right in the heart of the city. More than 40 years old, the nursing home — according to locals — is famous for illegal abortions.Locals said the medical services provided by Sree Krishna started being relegated to the background more than 20 years ago. “The whole neighbourhood knows that it’s the last resort for those seeking abortions desperately. They would do it at a reasonable cost and we have often found fetuses in and around the building. Their involvement in baby racket was, however, not widely known,” said a resident of the adjoining Nabin Chanra Pal Lane.
Down south in Behala, South View Nursing Home has a similar reputation. Popularly known as ‘Bordir nursing home’, it was never trusted by locals. Beggars and pavement-dwellers would often be found fleeting in and out of it, said local residents. “The nursing home claimed that they treated them without charge. Now, we suspect that these people were used for baby racket,” said a resident.
Earlier this year, South View came in the centre of a controversy after it refused to release a beggar who had given birth at the nursing home. Locals intervened and had organized a road block to force South View to relent. “It is sad that some of the nursing homes lure people by offering treatment at a low charge and then exploit them. They have also been indulging in illegal medical practices. Some doctors who are not involved are being made scapegoats,” said Amitrajit Basu, A psychiatrist.
Sree Krishna, for instance, claims to provide a range of health services which include surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology and outdoor service. But few of these facilities were actually available, alleged neighbours. “They do have baby delivery facilities, but the rest are suspect. I was taken aback by the poor facilities on offer when my daughter-in-law gave birth at the nursing home a few years ago,” said an elderly woman residing at the building next to Sree Krishna.
The focus on nursing homes has landed another south Kolkata nursing home in trouble. While it has neither been charged by the police, a section of the media claimed that it was involved in the baby trafficking racket. “We have been flooded with calls. But so far nobody from the police has either called us or accused us of any wrongdoing,” said the owner.