Infant stolen from V.N.Desai Hospital

Less than two years after a poor couple's son was abducted from the civic-run Sion Hospital. A two-month-old boy was abducted from V.N.Desai Hospital, Santacruz when his mother brought him for a routine polio dose. As per CCTV grabs from the Hospital show a burqa-clad woman walking away with the infant, Ayush Mishra around 11am. Only her green eyes are visible in the footage as the woman did not lift her veil even once, police officials said. As of now, a case of abduction has been registered against the unidentified woman under Section 363 of the IPC. Ayush was amongst a pair of twins born to Vakola residents Pooja and Avdesh Mishra from Uttar Pradesh.

Around 10.30am Pooja Mishra, 19, had taken her twins — a girl and a boy — for immunisation to the hospital along and her mother-in-law Shyama Mishra, 62, accompanied them. It is learnt that Pooja took Kumkum to the second floor of the hospital for vaccination, and left her son with his grandmother on the ground floor. A police officer said: “Shyama noticed a burqa-clad woman roaming around and talking to everyone, giving an impression that she knew them well. This woman came to her and said Pooja had called for Ayush for the polio drop.” Shyama said she did not suspect her and gave her the baby.

“The horror unfolded when Pooja returned and her mother-in-law narrated the story. A shocked Pooja revealed she had not sent anyone to get the boy,” the officer added. DCP Satyanarayan Chaudhary said both the women frantically searched the entire hospital for the child. “Subsequently, they informed the hospital authorities and the police,” Chaudhary added. The twins were born in the hospital on August 14 and Pooja had been taking gynaecological treatment at the hospital for over a year. Ayush, is the son of 19-year-old Pooja Mishra, a resident of Hanuman Tekdi, Gate No 1, Santacruz (E). Pooja had got doubly lucky on August 14 when she delivered him and a daughter, Kumkum.

“The Hospital has CCTV cameras all over and 24/7 guards on duty. But the incident happened in the OPD where we get about 1,000 patients a day. It is an extremely chaotic situation and we were not even told in time enough for our security to nab the woman.” said the hospital superintendent to the media. The Vakola police launched a massive combing operation in neighbouring colonies as the woman had probably kept a watch on the infant and his mother. Nursing homes will also be scanned. Hearing the shocking incident Pooja was taken ill and was admitted to the same hospital. Shashikant Wadekar, dean of the hospital, said: “The family informed us very late. We immediately closed the gates and searched for the woman. But CCTV footage showed she had left the premises already.”