Berhampur: A newborn girl was stolen by a woman from the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur in Ganjam district Saturday, reports said.
The incident created tension in the hospital as the newborn’s family searched for the culprit. After getting information, a police team reached the hospital and launched a probe.
Acting on the complaint of the newborn’s grandmother, police registered a case and launched a search for the suspect. The police have also seized footages of surveillance cameras on the hospital’s premises.
According to sources, the family of Jyoti Nahak, the wife of Bhikari Nahak of Ramsa Narayanpur village in the Kabisuryanagar block of the district, admitted her to MKCG after she experienced labour pain Friday.
Jyoti gave birth to a girl in the hospital late Friday night. While Jyoti was asleep after delivery, her mother Gurubari was taking care of the baby.
Meanwhile, a woman approached Gurubari saying that she wanted to administer a vaccine to the newborn. Unaware of her intention, Gurubari followed the woman with the baby to the hospital door.
Later the woman asked for the baby and sent Gurubari to collect the ticket. When the elderly woman went to collect the ticket, the suspect fled with the baby girl.
Gurubari returned with the ticket only to find the woman missing along with the baby. She informed Bhikari and other relatives about the incident, and they lodged a complaint with the police.
BNPur IIC Jaya Krushna Patnaik and the IIC of Bada Bazaar Police Station, Suresh Tripathy, came to the hospital.
ASP Shantanu Das also came to the hospital and questioned witnesses about the suspect. During the probe it was found that the woman had tried to dupe other women in the delivery ward saying that she wanted to know about their medical condition.
Police collected CCTV footage of the medicine store on the hospital’s premises.
The Congress leader of Kabisuryanagar, Sitaram Panigrahi, also came to the hospital and demanded a probe to nab the suspect and installation of more CCTV cameras at the hospital. However, the hospital authorities refused comment on the issue.
PNN
