A young mother, whose newborn male child was allegedly snatched by an unidentified woman at the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai last month, has knocked on the doors of the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) in a desperate bid to trace her baby.
Hearing the plea, a bench comprising Justices S Rajeswaran and T Mathivanan on Monday directed the Madurai City Police to submit a report of the missing infants from the GRH.
T Meenakshi had earlier refused to leave the hospital until her baby was restored to her but was ‘convinced’ to leave on the promise that the infant would be traced. She had delivered the baby on June 14 and was shifted to Ward 251. The next day, a woman clad in a yellow saree, claiming to be a hospital worker, asked her to hand over the infant to her for a breathing test. When she hesitated, the woman allegedly snatched the baby and vanished.
Attempts to trace the mystery woman based on CCTV footage turned futile as the captured image was hazy.
Suspecting that organised child traffickers were at work on the GRH premises, she had submitted a petition to the Chief Minister’s Special Cell, pleading that the investigation be transferred to the CB-CID or CBI.
Since there was no response to her representation, she filed a habeas corpus petition in the HC. The Bench also issued notices to the Home Secretary and other officials, returnable by August 6.