Woman concocts pregnancy story, gives ‘birth’ to girl

 27-year-old fools husband, in-laws with online pic of baby girl; docs conduct tests and say no signs of pregnancy or childbirth

Image for representation purpose

CHENNAI: Tired of allegedly being told to conceive repeatedly by family members of her husband, a 27-year-old woman from Tiruvallur district faked her pregnancy and claimed to have given birth to a girl at a private hospital in Velappanchavadi, said the police. The bizarre incident came to light when the husband, a ward member, staged a protest at the hospital on Wednesday, claiming the authorities were refusing to hand over his baby girl.

According to the police, Lakshmi (name changed) got married to a ward member from Kannapalayam panchayat last year and was allegedly under pressure from his family to conceive. Lakshmi would often complain of body aches and tiredness and leave for her parent’s home. She would usually stay put there for weeks allegedly to avoid taunts and pressure to conceive. Later, Lakshmi and her mother came up with a plan to fake her pregnancy, said the police.

Interestingly, none of the family members on either side raised suspicion when they broke the news of her pregnancy and even organised a baby shower. After the baby shower, the woman went to her mother’s house for delivery.On Tuesday, she informed her husband that she was experiencing contractions and on Wednesday morning claimed she had been admitted to a private hospital.

As bizarre as it sounds, Lakshmi downloaded the image of a baby girl from the internet and shared it with her husband claiming it was their baby, said the police. Unable to contain his happiness, the ‘father’ rushed to the hospital to meet his little bundle of joy. But where’s the baby? When he asked to see the baby, Lakshmi told him that the baby was in the incubator and the hospital staff were not allowing her to meet their child.

On Wednesday night, the woman, her husband and family members staged a protest in front of the hospital, demanding the authorities hand over the baby. The clueless authorities checked the records and found no such patient had been admitted. They informed Thiruverkadu police, who reached the spot and conducted an investigation.

After investigation, police said, the woman had randomly chosen a private hospital and that she was not even admitted there. “The doctors ran tests on her and said she had no signs of pregnancy or childbirth. We took the couple and the family to the station for inquiry,” said a senior police officer.The investigating officer said whenever police tried to question her, the woman would lose consciousness. Lakshmi and her mother were let off with a warning as the hospital did not press charges, said the police.