Hyderabad, Nov 24 (IANS): Hyderabad police arrested three persons, including a couple from Andhra Pradesh, for the kidnapping of a month-old baby boy from the government-run Niluofer Hospital for children in the city, and restored the child to his family.
The baby was kidnapped from the hospital on the evening of Saturday and was rescued by the police early on Sunday in Jogu Lamba Gadwal district while the kidnappers were taking him to Andhra Pradesh.
According to police, a couple from Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh kidnapped the baby with the help of their relative as they were desperate to have a male child.
The baby boy was kidnapped by a woman who approached his mother Haseena Begum and grandmother to help them in completing the formalities for discharge at the Aarogya Shree ward.
Haseena, 27, had given birth to a baby boy at a hospital in Zaheerabad town of Telangana on October 25. As the newborn was suffering from jaundice, on the advice of local doctors, she brought the child to Niluofer Hospital in Hyderabad. After the treatment, Haseena with her mother were signing discharge papers when a burka-clad woman offered to help them in completing the formalities. She diverted their attention and escaped with the infant.
Haseena filed a complaint with the Nampally Police Station. The police formed five teams to rescue the baby.
Based on the CCTV footage, police found that kidnappers were proceeding on National Highway 44 towards Kurnool. DCP Central zone Akshansh Yadav informed SP Gadwal and in turn, SP Gadwal alerted DSP Gadwal and Manapadu and Undavalli police stations on the Kurnool highway. The police intercepted a vehicle at the Pullur Toll Plaza and found the kidnappers with the baby. After confirming the baby boy’s photo with the complainant, the accused were arrested.
The accused have been identified as Shaheen Begum, Abdulla alias Venkatesh and his wife Reshma alias Renuka. The couple hails from Anantapur district and resides in the First Lancer area in Hyderabad.
According to police, Abdulla and Reshma married in 2009 and they are blessed with three daughters. Reshma was eight months pregnant and they feared having one more girl child. Desperate for a male child, they hatched a plan to kidnap a baby and executed it with the help of Shaheen, the younger sister of Reshma, who had come to Hyderabad from Anantapur to assist her during pregnancy.
Police said Shaheen and Abdulla went to Niluofer Hospital to execute their plan. While Shaheen kidnapped the baby boy, Abdulla was waiting near the hospital and they sped away in an autorickshaw.