Pune:
Stealing newborn babies from hospitals is a crime that seems to be growing by the day across the country. In Pune's neigbouring township of Pimpri Chinchwad, a one-day-old baby boy was stolen from the maternity ward at the Yashwantrao Chavan Hospital on Monday afternoon. Images of a woman stealing the baby boy have been caught in the CCTV footage at the hospital that is run by the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.
The woman, in her 30s, wearing a white
salwar kurta, was perhaps oblivious of the fact that the CCTV cameras installed at the hospital were tracking her movements as she is clearly visible carrying the stolen baby out of the hospital.
The incident happened at around 1 pm, the time when relatives are allowed to meet the patients. The newly-born baby boy's grandparents were at the hospital and had just come out to have lunch when this lady is seen entering the hospital and stops near the lift, speaking on her mobile phone. A little later she enters ward number 65 and sees the baby lying in the pram unguarded with her mother still in a semi-conscious state. The woman lifts the newborn and calmly walks out of the hospital without anyone stopping her.
When the grandparents returned, they found the boy missing and informed the hospital staff. A search was launched and it was only when the CCTV was scanned that they found the woman walking out of the ward with the baby. In haste, the municipal authorities decided to suspend a security staff member for negligence. The police immediately rushed to the spot after they were informed and using the CCTV footage, a massive search operation was launched.
The police are showing the footage to autorickshaw drivers who operate from near the hospital. The police have also appealed people to contact them at the below number if they have any information about the woman seen in the CCTV footage.
Pimpri Police Station number: 020-27472218