NEW DELHI: A 27-year-old woman was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stealing a newborn from Safdarjung Hospital.
The accused, identified as Pooja, a resident of Malviya Nagar, reportedly kidnapped the infant after being unable to conceive a child in her seven years of marriage, said DCP (Southwest) Surendra Coudhary.
A senior police officer said the incident was reported on Tuesday around 4 pm when a PCR call was made by the infant’s father. He stated that his wife had given birth to a girl at Safdarjung Hospital on Monday.
After the delivery, the baby was shifted to a ward, but by Tuesday, the newborn was missing. The family, along with others, searched the area but could not locate the child.
Upon investigation, police reviewed CCTV footage from the hospital and surrounding areas. The footage revealed a woman, partially covering her face with a stole, interacting with other patients. She was seen entering the room of the family whose baby had been stolen.
“Further analysis of CCTV footage traced the woman’s movements as she boarded the metro at AIIMS Metro Station, travelled towards INA Metro Station and then continued towards Millennium City Centre in Gurugram. She de-boarded at Hauz Khas Metro Station and proceeded towards Panchsheel Flyover. However, there were no CCTVs in the 200-metre stretch, making it difficult to track her movements,” police said.
Continuing the investigation, police identified that the woman hired an auto-rickshaw from Panchsheel Flyover and the driver confirmed dropping her, along with the baby, at Malviya Nagar.
A raid was conducted and the kidnapped child was recovered from the woman, officials said.