Burla: Sambapur police have announced a reward of Rs 5,000 for any information on the infant stolen from VIMSAR, Burla.
Four special teams have also been formed to trace a woman, who is suspected to have lifted the newborn boy from the gynaecology ward of VIMSAR on Tuesday. “The suspect was speaking fluent Odia. Thus, we believe she must be a local. We’re tracking suspicious phone numbers and utilising all technical resources to locate the accused and recover the infant,” additional SP Haresh Pandey told the media.
A case of kidnapping has been registered at Burla police station in this regard.
Geeta Das, wife of Mohan Das of Basan area of Mahasamund district in Chhattisgarh, was admitted to the gynaecology and obstetrics department of VIMSAR on November 24. She gave birth to a baby boy on November 25. The couple found their baby missing on Tuesday afternoon and informed the hospital staff, who searched for the baby for hours but in vain. They then reported the matter to higher authorities who eventually informed the police.
The couple claimed that an unknown woman established a rapport with Geeta’s sister to execute her plan. Since Geeta’s sister was new to VIMSAR, she was not familiar with the hospital’s procedures. The woman offered assistance, claiming she was from Sambalpur. While the family was having lunch on Tuesday, the woman was seen playing with the baby. Under the pretext of taking the baby for a stroll, she slipped away at around 2.15 pm. CCTV footage captures her comfortably walking out of the hospital with the baby.
“The woman visited us regularly. On Tuesday morning, she went with my sister to vaccinate the child. She was sitting on the bed holding my son and later disappeared with him,” said Geeta.