The infant was safely rescued within hours from Bhangar in South 24-Parganas, approximately 33 km from the hospital, and the accused has been arrested.
According to the news reports, the child’s 18-year-old mother had boarded a bus from her maternal home at Uttar Kashipur around 9 am on Monday. On the bus, the accused woman befriended her. Speaking to Telegraph India, a police officer said, “As there was no seat available, the complainant handed over her baby to the woman. Around 10 am, both of them got down at Karunamoyee bus stand and boarded an autorickshaw to reach the hospital at 10.20 am.”
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Inside the OPD, the accused continued to assist the woman, who was unfamiliar with the hospital layout. After the child was examined and prescribed medicines, the woman allegedly urged the mother to leave the baby with her while she went to purchase medicines from an outside store. When the mother returned, both the woman and the infant had vanished.
The distressed mother alerted the police outpost at the hospital, prompting officers to launch an immediate search. CCTV footage from the area helped investigators identify the suspect, who was seen wearing a blue jacket and carrying the baby.
Photographs of the woman were circulated across police stations, and teams from both Phoolbagan and Uttar Kashipur police stations began combing their respective areas.
An officer of Kolkata Police’s Bhangar division said that a shopkeeper had identified the woman and shown the police where she lived. Her neighbours informed the police that she had been expecting and had returned that day with her baby after delivery. The police team then raided her home and rescued the child. The accused woman was arrested and handed over to Phoolbagan police station, while the baby was reunited with his mother.
Hospital authorities expressed relief at the child’s safe recovery while acknowledging the challenges of preventing such incidents in crowded outpatient departments.
“We have thought about making announcements in the hospital that no one should hand over their children to strangers. This happened in an OPD where the entry of outsiders cannot be restricted. Anyone can come in as a patient’s family member. We are relieved that the child has been found and thank the police for tracking down the baby,” said Dilip Pal, the principal of Dr BC Roy Post Graduate Institution of Paediatric Sciences, reports Telegraph India.
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Pal added that it is very difficult to find fault with anyone if a mother willingly hands over her child to an unknown person. He said that they would still discuss the matter with the police and the hospital security to determine what more could be done to prevent such incidents.
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