Varanasi Police Seek DNA Test After Two Women Claim Custody of Nine-Month-Old Baby

Varanasi: A complex and emotionally charged custody dispute has emerged in Varanasi, where two women have come forward claiming to be the mother of the same nine-month-old baby boy.

The unusual case has now prompted police to seek the court’s permission for a DNA test to determine the child’s biological parentage.

One of the women, a 23-year-old rape survivor, alleged that her newborn baby was taken away shortly after delivery at a hospital last year.

According to police, she recently approached authorities claiming that the infant currently being raised by another family was actually her missing child.

The second claimant, an unmarried woman, has also asserted that the child belongs to her.

During questioning, she reportedly told police that she had decided not to raise the baby herself due to the social stigma often faced by single mothers.

Instead, she entrusted the child to a relative, who has been caring for him since birth.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Gaurav Kumar said the police have formally moved the court seeking permission to conduct DNA testing on the child and both women.

He added that until the matter is resolved, the baby will remain with the woman who has been raising him.

Police said the first woman had earlier filed a complaint accusing a man of having raped her on the promise of marriage, which allegedly resulted in her pregnancy.

Though the alleged incident took place last year, the complaint was officially registered in January this year.

In her statement to police, the woman claimed she was informed after delivery that her baby had gone missing from the hospital.

She also alleged possible involvement of hospital staff in the child’s disappearance.

Following the registration of the case, the accused man in the rape case was arrested and later sent to jail, police confirmed.

ACP Gaurav Kumar said the survivor recently informed investigators that she had discovered a baby boy living with a woman in a nearby locality, who she believed was her son.

However, she did not reveal how she obtained the information.

Acting on the lead, police contacted the woman who had been caring for the infant. During the inquiry, officers learned that the child had allegedly been handed over to her by a relative for upbringing.

Investigators then traced the second woman, who maintained that she was the child’s biological mother.

She reportedly told police that societal pressure and fear of judgment as an unmarried mother compelled her to let someone else raise the baby.

Both women were later called to the police station in an attempt to settle the matter through discussion.

However, as neither side agreed to withdraw their claim, the police decided that a DNA test would be the only reliable way to establish the child’s identity and resolve the custody dispute.