COIMBATORE: A woman, pretending to be pregnant, stole a newborn from the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in Salem on Friday afternoon. Salem city police said the woman was caught on CCTV camera while escaping with the infant. Four special teams led by Assistant Commissioner of Police P Hari Shankari have started a probe.
According to police, Vennila, wife of Thangadurai from Pallipalayam in Namakkal district, was admitted to the hospital a week ago for the delivery of her second child. She gave birth to a male baby on Sunday. The child was in the mother’s care in the ward located on the ground floor of the three-storey building where the paediatrics department functions.
On Friday afternoon, a woman wearing a mask entered the ward and picked up conversation with Vennila saying she too was pregnant and offered help. Around 1 pm, Vennila realised that her baby who was sleeping next to her was missing. The woman was also missing.
Police found the CCTV footage of a woman holding the child covered in a towel and paper in hand leaving the campus.
Sources said the security staff usually allow women with newborn babies to leave the ward only after they show the discharge summary. However the woman escaped as the security was lax.
Police released contact numbers 9498100945 (intelligence wing), 9498181218 (control room) and 9442062981 (investigating officer) for people to share information about the suspect.