CHENNAI: In the second such incident in a week, a young woman was arrested for kidnapping a newborn boy from a Corporation-run maternity hospital at Vysarpadi on Tuesday. The baby was rescued after local residents tipped off the police. On Sunday, L Anusuya (23) of Kasimedu was arrested on charges of kidnapping a newborn boy of R Janani and Rajkumar from RSRM maternity hospital at Royapuram.Giving details of Tuesday’s incident, Assistant Commissioner of MKB Nagar, Govi Manoharan, told Express that the baby’s mother, P Nandini (20), was admitted by her husband Prabhu (28) at the hospital in Ganesapuram, near Basin Bridge, for delivery on November 27. The couple resided in Debar Nagar, Vysarpadi.On Tuesday, Nandini delivered a baby boy around 7 am. “It was a normal delivery and the mother and child were shifted to the post-natal ward two hours later,” he said. As per procedure, the baby, along with two other newborns, was taken for checkup by his maternal grandmother Chinna Ponnu (55) to a pediatrician about 2 km away. At the centre, three women cuddled the babies. And when Chinna Ponnu returned to the hospital in an auto along with her son-in-law, one of the three women followed her, the ACP said.On arriving at the hospital, the stranger offered to deposit the baby with his mother, while the elder woman settled the auto fare. Chinna Ponnu handed over the baby to the woman, who went to the post-natal ward and laid him by Nandini’s side. “It appears that by doing so she was trying to create confidence,” the police officer said. When she returned around 11.45 am and claimed that the doctor wanted to see the baby again, Nandini readily acceded. Her mother had gone home to refresh herself and so she permitted the woman to take the newborn with her. When her husband questioned her about the baby’s whereabouts later, Nandini explained and the couple waited for the woman to bring back their baby. Time started ticking and when there was no sign of the child or the woman, they panicked and Prabhu lodged a complaint with the Vyasarpadi police. “By then, news of the missing baby spread like wildfire in the area as the couple lived there,” Manoharan said.Some residents of Malligaipu Colony spotted a woman of their locality with a baby in her hands and immediately alerted the police. A special team, led by Inspector Muniyandi, secured the duo and identified the woman baby kidnapper as M Velankanni (26), a resident of Malligaipu Colony. She claimed that she had two children and that her husband Manimaran was a labourer. Police are trying to ascertain whether she is involved in any kidnap racket.
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