Baby 81 incident

"Baby 81" redirects here. For the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club album, see Baby 81 (album).

Abhilasha Jeyarajah (born 19 October, 2004), sometimes spelled Abilash Jeyarajah and known as Baby 81, was a claimed survivor of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the subject of a parental identity dispute.

Abhilasha was reportedly found on the beach of the Sri Lankan town of Kalmunai in the midst of debris and dead bodies. He was taken without any family to Kalmunai hospital on the day of the disaster (26 December, 2004) after no relatives were found in the vicinity. He was named Baby 81 after being the 81st victim taken to that hospital after the tsumani hit Sri Lanka.

Nine couples attempted to claim the child for themselves, though only one pair took legal action to prove the baby's identity – Murugupillai and Junitha Jeyarajah claimed he was their four-month old son, Abhilasha. They said how the boy had slipped from his mothers arms when the waves hit, and that the documents of his birth, along with all their other possessions, were washed away in the disaster.

The courts initial attempts to take custody of the baby were blocked by the hospital. On 2 February, 2005, they ordered DNA tests of both the baby and the couple in an attempt to prove the case. The judge stated that the court would reconvene with the results on 20 April, 2005, though hoped an earlier date may be set. Hearing this, the couple, along with over 70 supporters, attempted to take the child from the hospital – the pair were arrested for assault and criminal trespass. On 9 February, 2005, escorted by nurses, police and a court official, the baby was taken to Colombo to undergo the tests. On 14 February, 2005, results of the tests confirmed their claim.

See also

• Solitaire Meissmer

References

• "Tsunami 'Baby 81' identified at Reuters, 14 February 2005
• "DNA test on disputed tsunami baby" at BBC News, 9 February 2005
• "DNA test for tsunami survivor 'Baby 81'" at China Daily, 3 February 2005
• "DNA Test Ordered in Tsunami 'Baby 81' Case" at abcnews, 2 February 2005

External links

• "The Big Story That Never Was" at Desicritics 19 February 2006