Infant abducted from maternity hospital

The abduction of a day-old infant from the Government Maternity Hospital here on Tuesday afternoon sent shock waves through the city.

Sonia, wife of Muniraja, hailing from Moravapalle village of Chandragiri mandal in the district, delivered a female child this afternoon and was recovering in the postnatal ward. A ‘white sari clad’ woman asked the family members to hand over the baby to her on the pretext of administering polio drops. One of the attendants of the patient gave her the baby and followed her only to find the stranger give the attendant the slip.

“The patient’s relatives handed over the child to a stranger who is not connected to the hospital. We have lodged a complaint with the police,” Superintendent V. Bhavani said. Alipiri police immediately swung into action and launched a manhunt.

The enraged family members wondered how a stranger could enter the hospital and go away with the child. Local activists also joined the agitated family members in venting their ire at a demonstration.