Infant kidnapped from Vadodara hospital

“She said she was visiting various hospitals in the city to check for newborn babies,” said Tushar Solanki,Asha’s husband.

Convinced by the story,the grandmother of the child,Savita,took the baby and left with the woman. “She had come in a car,and when I said that I would accompany them,the woman said that it would be better if only the grandmother and the child came along. She also assured that she will bring them back to the hospital after the formalities are done,” said Tushar.

But midway,the woman asked Savita to meet someone near the SSG Hospital. “The moment I stepped out of the car,she put something in my eyes that blinded me for a while. I started screaming,but the car had left by then. I ran back to the hospital to inform about the kidnapping,” said Savita.

The Wadi police,who have also registered the kidnapping complaint,have located the car that was used in the act. “The car was hired for a day from near the railway station,but all contact data provided by the woman were wrong. The mobile number provided was from Mumbai. We have sent a three-member team to Mumbai to investigate,but nothing concrete has been found,” said Inspector R G Bhavsar.

He added: “The driver said that he was taken to Kirti Stambh where the woman left. We have also enquired with all the autorickshaw drivers in that area to see if the woman took a ride from there. But nothing has come up yet. We are still trying to trace the woman.”

Meanwhile,security at the Jamnabai General Hospital continues to be scant even after the incident. The hospital has only five security guards with two guards per shift. “At night,there is just one guard,and no record is kept of visitors,” said a staff nurse on condition of anonymity.