New Delhi: In a swift and effective operation, the Delhi Police rescued a newborn baby abducted from Safdarjung Hospital just hours after the incident. Authorities confirmed on Wednesday that the one-day-old infant, stolen on Tuesday, has been safely reunited with her family. A woman has been taken into custody for the crime.

The abduction, which took place in broad daylight, caused alarm among the baby’s parents and the hospital staff. However, prompt action by officers from the Safdarjung Enclave police station led to a breakthrough in the case within a matter of hours.

A 27-year-old woman accused, identified as Pooja, a resident of Malviya Nagar, was arrested.

According to the police, the baby’s parents, originally from Basti in Uttar Pradesh and currently residing in Yashwant Place, Chanakyapuri, contacted the police control room (PCR) and reported the theft of their newborn baby girl from the hospital.

Shyam Narayan, father of the baby told police that his wife gave birth to a girl child on April 14 at Safdarjung Hospital. Following delivery, she was shifted to Ward No. 5. A day later, at around 3.15 pm, their newborn child went missing. They began searching the area but were unable to locate the missing child and subsequently made the PCR call.

A police team comprising sub-inspector Sunil Gaur, Satyender Gulia and Surender Das, Assistant Sub-inspector Jai Prakash, Head constables Anil, Pushpender, Rajender, Harchand, Pramod, Sunil, Shakti and Dharam Raj was constituted under guidance of ACP Ranbir Singh, who swung into action and nabbed the abductor within four hours.

The team combed through CCTV footage from Safdarjung Hospital and spotted a short, well-built woman partially covering her face with a stole/dupatta, speaking with other patients on the same floor. Further footage revealed that the accused lady boarded the Metro train from AIIMS Metro Station and took away the infant with her. 

Investigators traced her route through the Delhi Metro network, noting she switched lines multiple times in an attempt to avoid detection. Despite her efforts, police managed to track her to Gulak Wali Gali in Malviya Nagar, where the baby was found and safely recovered.

During interrogation, Pooja revealed that she had misled her husband, Pinku, by pretending to be pregnant. She claimed to have been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital and returned home on April 15 with the abducted baby, passing the infant off as her own. The couple had been married for seven years.

“As she had no child of her own, she decided to kidnap an infant from the Safdarjung Hospital,” she was cited as telling the police.

IANS