The parents of the baby at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday. Picture by Sachin

The parenthood bliss of a couple after 10 years of marriage was cut short to merely nine hours on the first day of December, as their baby was stolen from the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital.

Begampur resident Neelam Devi gave birth to a baby girl at 7am on Monday. Around 4pm, a woman sporting a yellow sari fled with the newborn. After a five-hour-long futile effort to spot the baby, Neelam’s husband Manoj Kumar Choudhary lodged a complaint at Alamganj police station around 9pm.

Manoj, a small-time shopkeeper, and Neelam tied the nuptial knot 10 years ago. On Monday, Neelam was admitted to the maternity ward of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) around 4am. Three hours on, she became a proud mother of a baby girl. Neelam’s pride suffered a body blow at 4pm the same day, as her child went missing.

Patna superintendent of police Shivdeep Lande told The Telegraph: “Police have spotted a woman dressed in a yellow sari taking away the infant in the CCTV footage. Two persons, including a woman, were waiting for her near the door of the ward. The quality of the footage is poor but it shows three persons involved in the child theft. It looks like the handiwork of a well-organised gang.”

The video footage would be sent to the forensic department for a clearer picture.

Manoj, the father of the missing newborn, said the woman in yellow sari had introduced herself as an attendant of the hospital and claimed that she took care of infants to help mothers.

“Within a few hours, the middle-aged woman became our friends. Her appearance was pleasant. She gave me tips on childcare. I thought she was a good woman. I went out of the hospital around 2.30pm (on Monday) for some work after the woman assured me that she would take care of my daughter as my wife was dozing off. I came back around 4pm and found my child missing. The woman had also disappeared. Till 9pm, I searched for the woman and my child in the hospital and outside. When I failed, I came to the local Alamganj police station and lodged an FIR,” Manoj said.

“The government hospitals in Patna have witnessed similar incidents in the past and the police pointed towards an organised gang behind the theft of infants. They sell off the stolen babies to childless couples in lieu of hefty sum,” an officer of Alamganj police station said.

The second angle could be human trafficking.

“These infants are stolen and then used by begging gangs who need small children to gain public sympathy. The police are probing all the possible angles and are trying hard to recover the child. The angle of female infanticide is ruled out as the couple had a baby after 10 years,” the SP said.