A 27-year-old woman, who faked pregnancy in front of the family after seven years of marriage without a baby, was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a day-old infant from Safdarjung Hospital in the national capital, the police said.
The woman was identified as Pooja, hailing from Malviya Nagar, who would visit various hospitals and identify targets by interacting with patients and their families.
The police said that she befriended the child’s family and stole the infant from the crèche when others were not present.
The police traced the woman using the CCTV footage at the hospital and reached her residence. During the interrogation, she revealed that she wanted to keep the family in the dark that it was her child.
Police said they got a call around 4 pm on Tuesday about a one-day-old baby girl being kidnapped. The baby’s father, who lives in Yashwant Place, Chanakyapuri, told them that his 24-year-old wife gave birth on April 14 at Safdarjung Hospital. After the birth, she was moved to Ward 5 (PNC Room). But around 3.17 pm on April 15, the newborn went missing. The parents and others nearby searched the area but couldn’t find her, so they informed the police.
According to the CCTV footage at the hospital and nearby areas, a seemingly pregnant woman was roaming on the same floor of the hospital where the child went missing, with her face partially covered with a dupatta. She was seen talking to the woman patients around. She was later spotted entering the room from which the baby was abducted, the police said.
Deeper CCTV analysis showed her boarding the Delhi metro going towards Samaypur Badli at AIIMS metro station. She, however, left the train at INA station to deceive the police. She then boarded another metro towards Huda City Centre and got off at Hauz Khas metro station from gate number 1. She walked towards the Panchsheel flyover.
She was seen taking an auto-rickshaw. The police checked footage from more than 20 auto-rickshaws to find the right one, since the number plate wasn’t clear. They finally found the rickshaw and spoke to the driver, who said he had dropped off a woman with a baby near Gulak Wali Gali in Malviya Nagar. With help from local sources, police identified the woman and searched her home, where they found the kidnapped baby.
During questioning, Pooja admitted that she had faked her pregnancy for several months. She had been married for seven years without having a child and moved in with her parents, saying she was expecting. On April 14, she left home claiming she was going to Safdarjung Hospital for delivery. She returned the next day with the kidnapped baby, pretending it was her own.
