Ending eight weeks long uncertainty, the
four-month-old tsunami survivor infant who is popularly known as
Baby 81, has found his real parents following the DNA test
results.
Kalmunai Magistrate yesterday said that the DNA
test results released by the Genetech laboratory confirmed that,
Murugapillai Jeyarajah and Jenita Jeyarajha, the couple who
fought desperately for weeks to gain his custody, was infant’s
biological parents.
The Court ordered parents to appear before the
court tomorrow (16) to receive their baby who is currently under
police protection in Kalmunai base hospital.
Name of the infant, who was discovered among the
tsunami debris, is Abilash and he was born October 19, 2004 at
Kalmunai hospital, the Jeyarajahs were quoted saying.
The court earlier ordered the DNA tests after
nine mothers all claimed that Baby 81 was their son. However,
only the Jeyarajahs opted to follow the legal procedure to
assert parenthood of the child.
He was tagged ‘Baby 81’ because he was the 81st
patient admitted to the hospital in Kalmunai after the 26/12
tsunami devastation.
It was the first time that genetic
fingerprinting was used in Sri Lanka to establish biological
parents.(JA)