Cops reunite stolen infant with mother

A three-day-old infant, kidnapped on May 16, was reunited with his mother by the Surat police.

The new-born was stolen during the early hours of May 16 from the gynaecology ward of New Civil Hospital in Surat. The infant's mother Laxmi Barot, 27, a resident of Amroli, was sleeping when the infant was taken away by a woman.

The woman, identified by police as Umadevi Mishra, a resident of Sultanpur, UP, used to go to the ward and play with the infant. She had disappeared with the infant on getting a chance. She was, however, caught leaving the hospital along with the new-born in the CCTV cameras. Investigating the case, the police tracked down Umadevi's brother Sanjay, who works as a security guard and lives at Varachha road, and questioned him about his sister and the infant's whereabouts. Sanjay initially claimed he did not know anything about the infant, but broke down during grilling.

He said that Umadevi had left for Sultanpur with the infant on May 17. He also disclosed that his sister was married for many years, but was unable to bear a child, which led her to stealing the child.