Two sisters have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a one-month-old girl from east Delhi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, the police said on Wednesday.
They added that the accused were arrested within 24 hours of the incident, which took place on Tuesday morning.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Pankaj Singh said the accused have been identified as Ghaziabad residents — 22-year-old Poonam and 19-year-old Pooja, who belong to Etawah.
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The accused told the police that they kidnapped the baby as Poonam was unable to conceive.
The baby’s father called the police after she was kidnapped by the duo on Tuesday morning.
He told the police that he and his wife had come to the hospital for their daughter’s check-up.
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He was standing in queue while his wife was waiting on the stairs with the baby.
“The women befriended the wife. Soon, the mother wanted to use the washroom and handed over the baby to the sisters. When she returned a few minutes later, the sisters and her daughter were missing,” said Mr. Singh.
Case registered
A case was registered based on the father’s complaint and investigation started.
When footage from CCTV cameras in the area was scanned, the women were seen exiting the hospital and getting into an autorickshaw.
“Local autorickshaw drivers were questioned and they were able to identify one Azad as the driver who ferried the sisters,” Mr. Singh said.
When contacted, Mr. Azad told the police that he had dropped the women at Khoda Colony in Ghaziabad.
“The women and the baby were found in one of the buildings when the area was searched,” Mr. Singh said.
Married for 4 years
During interrogation, the women allegedly told the police officers that they took away the baby as Poonam had been married for four years but had failed to conceive.
Mr. Singh said the women had not entered the hospital with a plan to kidnap the baby but decided to do it on the spur of the moment.