SAMBALPUR: Even as hectic efforts are on to trace the infant stolen from VIMSAR, Burla, Sambalpur police have announced a reward of Rs 5,000 for whoever provides information on a lady who is suspected to have lifted the child.
The two-day-old baby boy was stolen by an unidentified lady from the gynaecology ward of VIMSAR on Tuesday. On the basis of CCTV footages, four teams were formed to trace the woman and rescue the baby. Following the incident, a case of kidnapping was registered at Burla police station and an investigation launched. Police have also gathered information from other patients admitted to the ward to ascertain details of the suspect lady caught in the CCTV.
Additional SP Haresh Pandey said, “As per the findings so far, the suspect was speaking fluent Odia. Thus, we believe she must be a local. The suspect communicated with the family members of the baby’s parents and established a good rapport with them and subsequently took away the child when she got an opportunity.”
He said investigation is underway and check posts have been set up at several places in the town. Four teams are also searching for the lady. “We are following a few clues for detection and using technical support to catch the accused with the infant. We hope the baby will be rescued soon,” Pandey said.
The mother of the infant Gita Das said the lady had become friendly with her sister and regularly visited her. “In the morning the lady went with my sister to vaccinate the child. She was sitting on the bed holding my son and later fled with him,” she said.
As per reports, Gita and her husband Mohan had come from Basna in Chhattisgarh for delivery on November 24. Gita delivered the baby boy on Monday. However, at around 2:15 pm on Tuesday the couple found their baby missing. Though hospital staff searched for the baby for hours, they could not find him and reported the matter to higher authorities who eventually informed the police.