The newborn who was undergoing treatment at MGM Medical College Hospital after being rescued from Ghurabandha jungle on September 6 evening was shifted to Tata Motors Hospital late on Thursday evening.

Child welfare committee Jamshedpur, under whose custody the newborn is, shifted her for better treatment. The baby, who is still in critical condition, is undergoing treatment at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Chaibasa, West Singhbhum residents Horo Purty and his wife Pangela Purty, whose hour-old baby was stolen from MGM Medical College Hospital on September 4, have submitted a petition to Jamshedpur child welfare committee saying that they are the parents of the baby undergoing treatment.

Pushpa Tirkey, chairperson of the committee, said the Purtys have requested that the baby be handed over to them as soon as she recovers.

“We told the anxious petitioner that saving the life of the newborn is our top priority. We will decide on this aspect (the petition) later,” Tirkey told The Telegraph.

Horo had lodged an FIR with the Sakchi police station after the baby born to Pangela on September 4 was stolen the same day. Two days later, on September 6 evening, an abandoned newborn was found in Ghurabandh jungle. The police had admitted the newborn to MGM Medical College Hospital the same night.

Horo and Pangela had stayed back at the hospital hoping to get “their” baby back, but after the child welfare committee shifted the baby to Tata Motors Hospital, they filed the written claim.

“Pangela Purty, who had undergone a Caesarean section delivery, is now alright. We will discharge her today,” Dr Nakul Prasad Chaudhury, deputy superintendent, MGM Medical College Hospital, said on Friday.

Sakchi police station officer-in-charge L.P. Mandal said the child welfare committee had informed the cops about shifting the ailing baby.

“We are also aware about the written petition given by Horo Purty, staking his claim on the baby, but we will decide on this issue only after the recovery of the baby,” the OC added.

The newborn who is undergoing treatment is premature, underweight — she weighed just 1.5kg when she was found — and has respiratory problems. According to hospital records, Pangela's baby was 2.5kg at the time of birth.

“Horo and Pangela are still claiming the newborn to be theirs although doctors at the medical college hospital declared that it was a different baby,” an MGM hospital doctor said.