A newborn was stolen from the maternity ward of the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) here on Thursday night. The police have got the CCTV footage of a lady lifting the baby and launched a haunt for her. She was yet to be nabbed, while the parents are deeply worried.
As per information, Gitanjali Majhi, wife of Aniruddha Majhi of Amlipani village under Jujomura block, was admitted to the DHH Sambalpur on Wednesday for her advance stage pregnancy. On Thursday afternoon, she gave birth to a male baby. All the family members and her husband were present with her near the bed No 23 of the maternity ward.
At about 4 pm on Thursday, an unknown woman came and asked for the baby with explanation that she likes small baby to which the family members strictly denied. But the woman was looking for a chance and in the late night, at about 2.00 to 2.30 am, taking advantage of the rest time of the family members and others, she very tactfully lifted the baby from the bed.
The police swung into action, when the parents lodged a complaint in the town police station. “Taking clues from the CCTV camera, we have started an investigation into the case. We have lodged a case u/s 363 of IPC and are exploring all possibilities to trace the culprit out,” informed town police station IIC PK Sahu.
“Four squads have been formed and we are searching in slums for presence of any newborn there. At the same time, our staff members have kept a watch on bus stands and railway stations,” Sahu informed.
Notably, the father of the newborn is a poor man and runs a betel shop in his village.