Newborn baby kidnapped at Thane Civil Hospital

CCTV footage shows the woman enter the hospital along with a girl and a man at around 6:38pm on Saturday evening

A newborn boy was kidnapped from Thane Civil Hospital in the wee hours of Sunday raising questions about security there. The Thane Nagar police have registered a case and are trying to trace the accused from CCTV footage at the hospital. On Sunday, local villagers along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena members protested outside the hospital against the lack of security, and demanded action against the nurses and doctor.

What happened
According to the police, Mohini Mohan Bhavar, 19, from Bhadvad village in Bhiwandi, was admitted to Thane Civil Hospital with labour pains at 10:45pm on Saturday and delivered a baby at 10:56pm. She was then approached by a woman who took her baby. "At around 1am a woman approached me claiming my mother-in-law sitting outside was asking for the child and took him. When I woke up around 4 am I saw my child was missing. My family members sitting outside were unaware of the woman. When we inquired with the hospital authorities, they said they were unaware of any such thing. So we approached the Thane Nagar police station and registered a case," said Mohini.

It also shows the labour ward where the boy was on the bed with his mother, when the accused fled with him

The case has been registered under Section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code. "We have collected CCTV footage from the camera in the corridor and main gate of the hospital. It shows a woman holding the baby and a girl with her. The footage shows her passing at around 4am. We are further trying to trace the child," said a police official.

Mohini Bhavar claimed a woman took her baby saying her mother-in-law had asked for him. Pic/Sameer Markande

MNS members demanded action against the nurse and civil surgeon. "Most of the villagers coming from the rural parts of Thane district face such carelessness from the hospital authorities. Six months ago we had asked the authorities to increase security in the hospital. But they are just careless. A month ago a child was admitted in the hospital with a snakebite. We found that the hospital doesn't have any drugs for this. So we admitted him in a private hospital," said Ravindra More, Thane MNS Vice-President. More claimed that D Swami, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Thane City, assured them that they would trace the boy.

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