Stolen baby boy rescued in Salem

The Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in the city witnessed emotional scenes on Sunday evening, when a newborn baby boy, who was stolen from the hospital ward five days ago, was rescued by the police and handed over to the parents.

Indu, wife of G. Venkatesan of Neermullikuttai village in Vazhappadi taluk, had given birth to a baby boy on October 24 at the hospital and was undergoing treatment at the post-operative ward. She found the baby missing from the room on October 26.

Based on a complaint in this regard, two special police teams were formed under the direct supervision of Raveendran, Assistant Commissioner of Police, to trace the baby.

CCTV footages revealed a young woman going out of the hospital with an infant. The police team immediately combed the bus stands and the nearby residential localities, but could not trace the woman. The police, on the assumption that the woman will bring the stolen baby for treatment, had alerted the government hospitals and all the primary health centres functioning in the districts of Salem, Namakkal and Dharmapuri. They had also displayed posters with the portrait of the accused in the vicinity of the hospitals and PHCs.

Meanwhile, the police got a tip off from Karavur village near Marandahalli in Dharmapuri district, that a woman of the village had suddenly brought a baby claiming to be hers. The police rushed to the village and retrieved the baby from Vennila (20), wife of Satishkumar of Sandhiyur. Police sources said that Vennila confessed that she had stolen the baby.

Georgy George, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order - Salem city, handed over the baby to Indu at the hospital in the presence of relatives.

Mr. George told presspersons that Vennila was married for three years and had no issues. Due to this, she was abused by her relatives. Unable to bear this, she moved around in the village in the guise of a pregnant woman for the past six months. She managed to slip away with the baby from the hospital and later took it to her parent’s village Karavur. Vennila was arrested.