Cops rescue infant kidnapped from Safdarjung hosp, woman arrested

New Delhi: A woman was arrested for kidnapping a four-month-old baby from Safdarjung Hospital after gaining the mother's trust by befriending her and pretending to be pregnant. The woman was identified as Neetu (35). Police were alerted that on Jan 29, a 32-year-old woman from Bihar reported her infant son's missing from the hospital. "According to the woman, she arrived at the hospital a few days ago with her son for medical treatment. During their stay in the waiting hall, she became acquainted with an unknown woman who was also staying at the hospital," a police officer said. Before stepping out to buy milk for the baby, she entrusted her son to Neetu's care. "However, upon returning, she found both the woman and her baby missing. Despite efforts to search the premises, the mother was unable to locate her child or the woman, and a case of kidnapping was registered at Safdarjung Enclave Police Station," the officer added.
The cops reviewed CCTV footage from the hospital and surrounding areas. Their investigation revealed that the accused woman left behind her bag in the waiting hall. Inside the bag, police found tickets from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Delhi Transport Corporation, with one ticket from Jahangir Puri to AIIMS. The cops then tracked and arrested the accused, Neetu, within eight hours of the kidnapping. "Using CCTV footage and metro tickets, police tracked Neetu's movements to Dhaula Kuan," DCP (South West) Surendra Choudhary said.
"The vehicle was traced to Neetu's husband, and a team conducted a raid at their home in Alipur village on Jan 30. There, they found Neetu with the abducted baby, successfully recovering the child and bringing Neetu into custody." DCP added. Neetu said she had been childless for seven years and pretended to be pregnant, so that she could kidnapped the baby to pass him off as her own, police said. tnn