VELLORE: A three-day-old boy was allegedly stolen from the Vellore Government Hospital at Adukkamparai when the baby’s mother and grandmother were having breakfast on Wednesday morning.
According to police, G Chenna (25), wife of P Govindan (42), a daily wage labourer from Pernambut Aravatla Irular tribal village, gave birth to the boy on Sunday evening at the hospital’s labour ward on the third floor.
On Wednesday, around 8.30 am, while the mother and grandmother were having breakfast, a woman in a blue saree approached them, offering help to carry the infant. Govindan was waiting outside the labour room as men are not allowed inside.
The grandmother, who was struggling to open the food packet, handed over the baby to her. However, as she was trying to plate the food, the woman fled with the baby. “Within a second, the woman ran away with my son. Though we tried, we couldn’t catch her,” father Govindan told TNIE.
CCTV footage unclear; cops try to source images from nearby places
The parents lodged a complaint with the police, following which Vellore town deputy superintendent of police (DSP) E Thirunavukarasu examined the CCTV footage inside the hospital and conducted an inquiry with the parents.
Police have filed an FIR under Sections 448 and 365 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and a search is on to nab the suspect. Sources said the hospital CCTV footage is unclear and the woman’s image is blurred. Three police teams are working to source CCTV images from places near the hospital.