A six month old boy abducted from a Kolkata children’s hospital, on Monday was rescued after an eight hour search that stretched across districts. Police found the infant safe in Bhangar, around 33 kilometres from the hospital, and arrested the woman who had kidnapped him while pretending to be a nurse. The incident has raised serious concerns about child safety and hospital security.
The infant’s 18 year old mother had travelled from Uttar Kashipur to BC Roy Post Graduate Institution of Paediatric Sciences for treatment. On the bus, she met a woman who introduced herself as a nurse and offered to guide her through the hospital visit. The mother, young and exhausted from caring for a sick child, accepted the help, believing she had met a kind stranger.
After the doctor examined the child and issued a prescription, the mother stepped out to buy medicines. She left her baby with the woman who had been helping her since the journey began. When she returned, both the woman and her baby were gone. Panic set in as she searched the hospital corridors before rushing to staff members for help.
The hospital immediately informed Phoolbagan police, who began scanning CCTV footage. Cameras captured the woman carrying the baby out of the hospital building. Police circulated her photos, clearly showing her in a blue jacket, to nearby stations and community networks.
Officers from Uttar Kashipur Police Station joined the hunt since the mother had started her journey from that area. Teams fanned out across possible routes the kidnapper might have taken. The case took on urgency because the infant was vulnerable and needed medical care.
The breakthrough came when residents and shopkeepers in Bhangar recognised the woman from the circulated photos. They alerted police, who reached the area quickly and conducted a search. Officers found the six month old boy inside the woman’s home, on Monday evening. He was unharmed and reportedly playing quietly when rescued.
Police arrested the suspect, identified as Sabina Bibi, and recovered the child. The officers then took her to Phoolbagan Police Station, while the baby was handed back to his overwhelmed and emotional mother.
Early investigation reveals that the woman had told neighbours she was pregnant and expecting to deliver soon. Police suspect this was part of a plan to take a baby and pass him off as her own. Officers are also looking into the possibility that she intended to sell the infant. Investigators have not confirmed the involvement of others but are continuing inquiries.
“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 entry of outsiders cannot be restricted." Dilip Pal, the principal of Dr BC Roy Post Graduate Institution of Paediatric Sciences, told The Telegraph Online.
Hospital authorities expressed relief that the baby was rescued. At the same time, they admitted that outpatient departments remain difficult to monitor because many outsiders enter daily.
(Rh/ARC/MSM)