A 10-day-old girl, who was abducted by a woman from the premises of a rural hospital under the Mothabari police station area in Malda on Monday, was recovered by the police within 24 hours.
On Tuesday evening, the infant was found in a village near the hospital. The woman who had taken her away was arrested.
On Monday, Munni Bibi, the young mother, arrived at the hospital with her 10-day-old daughter and mother-in-law. While the mother-in-law went to speak to a doctor at his residential quarters, Munni waited outside with her newborn. When the baby began crying inconsolably, a woman seated nearby offered to soothe her.
Somehow, the woman managed to slip away with the baby from the hospital without Munni’s knowledge.
When Munni realised her baby was gone, she broke down and drew the attention of hospital authorities.
CCTV footage of the hospital showed the woman walking out of the main entrance with the baby.
The incident was reported to Koushik Mistri, the block medical officer of health (BMOH), who is also in charge of the hospital. Mistri immediately informed the police.
“The infant’s family did not come to the outpatient department, but instead to a doctor’s quarters. The baby’s mother handed over her crying child to a woman who later vanished with the baby. We informed the police immediately and provided CCTV footage,” the BMOH said.
A police team spoke to Munni and her mother-in-law and collected the CCTV footage.
The police initiated a search, intensifying monitoring at different checkpoints to intercept the kidnapper.
On Tuesday evening, acting on a tip-off, the police raided Damodartola, a village under the same police station. They found the woman and the infant.
“During preliminary questioning, the woman said she had taken away the infant as she was regularly taunted for being childless. Necessary formalities to hand over the infant to her parents have been initiated,” said a police source.
The woman was arrested. The police have withheld her identity.