Infant kidnapping: woman took child to pose as a mother, say Kerala Police

Kottayam: The shocking kidnap of a newborn infant from the Kottayam Medical College hospital has been resolved but police have now revealed that the entire incident was orchestrated by the kidnapper who wanted a child to show her lover that she had given birth, according to reports.

The kidnapper, identified as 33 year-old Neetu, wanted a child in order to convince her lover that she had become a mother, police reports said. A married woman, Neetu had been in a relationship with a man identified as Ibrahim Badusha from Ernakulam. During the affair, Neetu had become pregnant and used it to blackmail her lover into staying despite his wish to marry another woman.

However she suffered a miscarriage and did not inform him. It was in order to convince him that she decided to kidnap an infant to pose as her own child, the investigation has so far revealed.This included elaborate preparations to bypass hospital security by dressing as a nurse said Medical Education Department Joint Director Thomas Mathew to media on Saturday.

"The woman came to the hospital with a proper plan. She entered the hospital and left the premises within a few minutes with the infant. In fact, the security measures inside the hospital are really good. But she was able to bypass all of it as she was disguised as a nurse," Mathew told the media here.

An autorickshaw driver saw Neetu carrying the infant out of the hospital and to the nearby Park Hotel, where she had checked in on January 4. His testimony led to a swift capture of both kidnapper and infant, which was then promptly returned to the distraught parents.

"She visited the maternity ward and identified one child. She took the child to her room and clicked a photo and sent it to her lover. That was the reason behind the abduction," Kottayam SP Shilpa Dyavaiah said. The Medical College Police were informed at 4 PM about the kidnapping after which they swung into action.

All vehicles arriving from the medical college area were stopped and inspected by police teams and even autorickshaw drivers, ambulance drivers, locals and medical shop staff in the vicinity of the medical college were told to keep an eye out for the baby, police said.

Health Minister Veena George has ordered a probe into the incident.

Police have also registered a case against Ibrahim Badushah for allegedly cheating Neetu out of ₹30 lakhs.