The negligence on the part of police in conducting the DNA test of the baby girl rescued from Ghurabandha jungle on September 6 has delayed her adoption process.

Child Welfare Committee (CWC), under whose custody the baby is, can’t put her up for adoption unless her DNA test is done.

The test has been necessitated by the claims of Chaibasa residents Horo Purty and his wife Pangela that the baby was their daughter.

The couple, whose hour-old baby was stolen from MGM Medical College & Hospital on September 4, had submitted a petition in this regard to Jamshedpur Child Welfare Committee.

The infant is currently lodged in Sahyog Village, a Sonari-based babycare centre run by CWC.

Jamshedpur CWC chairperson Pushpa Tirkey said police’s apathy in conducting the DNA test had put them in a spot.

“Once the DNA test is conducted, the baby in question would have to be either handed over to the Purty couple or she would be legally free to be referred to a portal of Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). But till the police take an initiative, our hands are tied,” Tirkey said.

She said the CWC would approach senior superintendent of police Anoop Birtharay and request him to intervene.

After the newborn was stolen from the hospital on September 4, Horo had lodged an FIR with Sakchi police station against an unidentified woman who was seen carrying away the child in a CCTV footage.

Police, who began investigation, found a newborn from Ghurabandha jungle two days later, leading Horo to claim the child to be his.

However, MGM hospital authority said the underweight child found from the jungle and the lost baby might not be the same and recommended a DNA test.