Baby boy stolen from Ahmedabad hospital, found

Ten hours after a 20-day-old baby boy disappeared from the city's VS Hospital, the newborn was rescued from the possession of a mentally-challenged woman who had allegedly abducted him. Police said the woman had been arrested and the baby boy had been sent back to the VS Hospital.

According to BK Purohit, PI of Ellisbridge police station, a woman identified as Shabana Iqbal Teli, a resident of Isanpur, sneaked into VS Hospital's maternity ward and walked away with the baby boy which lay in a ventilator. The incident happened at around 4 am on Sunday.

Police said Jyoti, wife of Pradeep Das Rajput from Rajasthan, had delivered twins (a boy and a girl) 20 days back in a private hospital. Police said that as the twins had a premature birth, they were kept in a ventilator because of health complications. After three days the couple moved to VS Hospital as they could no longer afford the private hospital which charged them around Rs3,000 per day.

"The twins were kept in a ventilator at VS Hospital two weeks back and were responding well to treatment. On Sunday morning, Shabana allegedly walked away with the baby boy. The couple and hospital authorities were horrified when they discovered that the baby had disappeared," said a VS Hospital employee.

Fortunately, as local TV channels flashed the news soon after, Chandola municipal councillor called up the Ellisbridge police inspector and told him that a woman was roaming around suspiciously in Juhapura with a newborn baby. The police rushed to the spot but were unable to trace her.

"After inquiring, we found that the woman's house in Isanpur was also locked. We also met her relatives and, only after a search that lasted several hours was she traced to her house. We have taken her into custody and sent the child back to the hospital," Purohit said.

The PI further said that Shabana was married to Iqbal quite a long time ago but she had been shunned by her husband for the last 6-7 years. She herself had a boy and a girl who were now 10 and 8-years old respectively. He added that the woman appears to be mentally-challenged. AMC opposition leader Badruddin Sheikh had informed the police of the incident.