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NEW DELHI – Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, 47, and his wife Gauri recently became parents for the third time welcoming a baby boy born via surrogacy. The boy — named AbRam — was born in a Mumbai hospital a couple of days ago. Khan, already a father to son Aryan, 16, and daughter Suhana, 13, has been beleaguered by allegations in the Indian press that a prenatal sex determination test — which is illegal according to Indian law — was carried out before his infant son’s birth.
But in his first official statement on the issue, Khan said Tuesday, “Just to put the record straight there was no sex determination for our child. The baby was born much before the speculations of ‘sex determination’ and other issues. Suffice to say his coming home puts to rest completely false and at times insensitive claims of sex determination and alleged illegalities.”
PHOTOS: Indian Talent Going Global
Earlier reports had led government authorities to launch an inquiry into whether a prenatal test was conducted. Shortly after Khan’s statement, Mumbai city’s health department submitted its report to the state government. According to the department’s additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar, the report stated the birth happened before newspaper reports about the sex determination test.
“Amidst all the noise that has been going around, the sweetest is the one made by our newborn baby, AbRam,” Khan said explaining why there was a delay in making a statement about the issue. “He was born prematurely by several months but has finally come home. Gauri and our whole family have been dealing with his health issues for a long time now.”
“Our son is a surrogate baby and the entire process is bound by strict confidentiality,” he added. “We would appeal to all to allow us to cherish this private moment as a family. It seems unfortunate that I have to explain and clarify so many aspects for our new-born baby. Wish it were just a simple message of happiness on behalf of the family. They say a baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. Post this statement: I hope we all move on, too.”
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