TIRUCHY: Posing as a pregnant patient, a 38-year-old woman befriended a new mother and abducted her four-day-old baby boy from Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) in Tiruchy on Saturday.
Within six hours of the incident, the suspect, S Meenatchi, was arrested from her native in Thammampatti in Salem district around 1 pm, and the newborn was rescued. Meenatchi allegedly resorted to the crime as she had falsely told her family that she was carrying. The hospital on Saturday ordered a departmental inquiry following the incident. Police said the baby was born to V Suganya (30) from Nayakkanpatti village in Thuraiyur taluk of Tiruchy on February 11, when she was admitted to the hospital.
Meenatchi allegedly befriended Suganya claiming that she was an inpatient and seven months pregnant. She stayed near Suganya’s bed in the maternity ward for three days and offered to take care of the newborn.
When Suganya was getting ready to take the baby for vaccination on Saturday morning, Meenatchi allegedly volunteered to take the boy to another ward for the procedure. Despite Suganya’s hesitation, Meenatchi took the child and left the ward, police said.
Suganya, who was following her soon realised the woman and her baby were missing, and alerted hospital authorities. The hospital staff, while checking CCTV footage, saw Meenatchi boarding an autorickshaw with the infant. The autorickshaw driver led the police to Thiruverumbur, where Meenatchi’s mother resides.
Further inquiry revealed she had left for her native in Salem district, from where she was arrested. She was brought to the Tiruchy police station, and the infant was handed over to his parents.
According to police, Meenatchi told them she had married a second time to a man named Sekar and had no children. She had lied to her husband and his family that she was pregnant. She confessed that she came to MGMGH posing as a pregnant woman with the intention of abducting an infant and presenting the baby as her own, a senior police officer said.
The police also confirmed the infant was not abducted with an intention to sell, as her motive was solely to have a child. They added the incident occurred due to lapses in hospital security, as no staff questioned Meenatchi despite her staying in the ward for three days.
A senior official from MGMGH told TNIE, “We regularly inquire about visitors entering the maternity ward. However, one or two individuals may enter without our knowledge, especially during shift changes. We will look into the issue and implement stricter monitoring measures.”
Sources said the hospital has ordered strict RFID verification after it came to light that the woman had removed the newborn’s ID tag. Officials said the discharge system includes mandatory summaries, blue wrist tags for mothers, RFID tags for babies, and staff-assisted transfers, including support through the 102 ambulance service. However, overcrowding by multiple attenders was flagged as a key vulnerability.
CPI functionary Ibrahim urged to deploy one or two attenders per patient, noting large groups of relatives often cause congestion. A senior official in MGMGH said they have planned to restrict entry to the baby zone, to post warning notices, and provide video-based viewing of newborns to curb crowding.
Officials also confirmed an ultrasound centre and a newly inaugurated X-ray unit operate in the same building, highlighting the need for tighter internal monitoring.