A newborn baby was kidnapped from the Medical College Hospital in Kottayam on Thursday (Representational)
A newborn baby was kidnapped from the Medical College Hospital in Kottayam on Thursday afternoon by a woman dressed as a nurse, but the infant was traced within a few hours by the police and handed over to the mother.
The woman who allegedly kidnapped the child was a native of Thiruvalla, police said and added that more details about her and the motive behind the kidnapping will be revealed after further questioning of the accused.
According to the police, the woman, dressed as a nurse, entered the gynaecology department of the medical hospital and walked away with the infant at around 3.00 PM and it took more than half an hour for the child's mother and relatives to realise the baby had been kidnapped.
The Medical College Police was informed about the abduction at around 4.00 PM and it immediately swung into action and sent messages to all the police stations in the district and around the hospital.
All vehicles arriving from the medical college area were stopped and inspected by police teams and even autorickshaw drivers, ambulance drivers, locals and medical shop staff in the vicinity of the medical college were told to keep an eye out for the baby, police said.
Subsequently, an autorickshaw driver informed the police that a woman with a baby was seen entering the Park Hotel which was just 100 metres from the hospital.
Police reached the hotel, arrested the woman and rushed the baby back to its mother at the hospital.