DNA tests in 'Baby 81' case scheduled for next week

KALMUNAI, Sri Lanka -- In soothing tones, a Sri Lankan judge on Thursday assured a distraught couple they would get back the baby they are fighting a court battle to claim -- if a DNA test next week proves they are the parents.

The judge also said he would consider ruling on the case much earlier than the April 20 date he previously set, raising hopes of a quick resolution to the couple's agonizing custody battle for "Baby 81," an infant boy who survived the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster.

"Don't fight," Judge M.P. Mohaideen told Jenita Jeyarajah and her husband, Murugupillai. "The government will give you the baby if the DNA test says it is your baby."

Mohaideen ordered the DNA tests Wednesday and ruled the baby should remain in a hospital's care until the court reconvenes on April 20 -- a pronouncement that set off a melee and prompted the couple and their supporters to march to the hospital to demand the child.

The Jeyarajahs and two supporters were arrested and briefly held by police for allegedly roughing up nurses.

They reappeared Thursday before the judge, who let them off with a warning and said he would consider a request to decide the case more quickly.

The couple -- looking red-eyed and haggard -- were relieved.

"At last God is smiling on us," Jenita Jeyarajah said.

The couple must travel to the capital, Colombo -- an eight- hour drive away -- for the tests. The baby is to be taken there under police protection.

The judge said UNICEF would pay for the procedure. Harendra de Silva, head of the government's Child Protection Authority, said it could be completed within eight hours.

The battle over Baby 81 -- so named because he was the 81st admission to the hospital the day the tsunami struck -- has become a symbol of the anguish of thousands of families who lost children in the disaster. Eight other women had also claimed the boy, but the Jeyarajahs were the only ones to file a police report and pursue their case.

Jenita Jeyarajah says the baby was torn from her arms when giant waves knocked her down. He was later found on a beach among bodies and debris.

The Jeyarajahs say the boy is their son Abilass, who was born on Oct. 19, and that documents proving he is theirs were washed away in the tsunami.