Infant stolen from city civic hospital

Eyewitness Hasina Bano Chaudhary,who was waiting with the family,said,“The woman went away soon after,and returned after 15-20 minutes. She told Shyama her daughter-in-law had asked for her son,as his immunisation would be done on the first floor. The old woman handed over the child.”

The family realised they were duped only when Pooja returned and reported the matter to the hospital guards. The twins were born in the hospital on August 14 and Pooja had been taking gynaecological treatment at the hospital for over a year.

Hospital superintendent Dr SR Wadekar said,“We have CCTV cameras all over the hospital,and 24/7 guards on duty. But the incident happened in the OPD where we get about 1,000 patients a day. It is an extremely chaotic situation and we were not even told in time enough for our security to nab the woman.”

Police inspector Anil Kharade of Vakola police station said a case had been registered against an unidentified woman under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code. “The family came to us around 11.30 am. We went to the hospital and examined the CCTV footage.” He said eyewitnesses had described a woman with green eyes,wearing white slippers.

“Her face was covered by the burqa. We could gather she was slim and was about five feet tall from the footage.”

He said police control room was informed and four teams had been dispatched from the Vakola police station to scan the nearby areas. “We have also informed the railways,and are keeping an eye on all nearby bus stops.”