Stolen two hours after birth at Surat hospital, newborn rescued from home of former employee

The newborn was reunited with his parents on Saturday afternoon while the accused woman was arrested after an FIR was filed in the case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section pertaining to kidnapping.

According to police, 23-year-old Sandhya Shukla, who hails from Uttar Pradesh and presently resides in Surat’s Pandesara area, was admitted to the New Civil Hospital by her husband on Friday afternoon. In the evening, she delivered a boy. After some time, she went off to sleep with the newborn by her side. On waking up after two hours, she found the boy missing and alerted the nurses and doctors who informed the police, according to the FIR filed by Sandhya’s husband Dhiraj.

Khatodara police began investigation in the case and with the help of CCTV footage, they reached Navagam Dindoli where they found the kidnapped newborn. Police arrested Radha Jha (32), who hails from Bihar.

Khatodara police inspector B R Rabari said, “Radha is a mother of three children – two girls and a boy. Her husband Raju does petty work in the textile market area. A few days ago, she had a miscarriage. Radha told us that she was expecting another boy and was deeply pained due to the miscarriage. She then decided to steal a child from the New Civil Hospital where she had worked for three months a couple of years ago. We are questioning her to get more information on the matter.”