Childless couple among 4 arrested for abducting infant

DHARMAPURI: Police on Tuesday rescued the day-old baby who was abducted from the maternity ward of the Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital on Sunday. Four persons were arrested in connection with the case.

Malini (19), wife of Arulmani, a carpenter in Nacchanur village in Pennagaram taluk, delivered a male child in the hospital on Sunday.  Hours later, when Malini returned from the rest room, she found the baby missing.

Following a complaint, Superintendent of Police Kalaichelvan, three special teams were formed to rescue the baby. On Tuesday, they four persons and rescued the baby.

Kalaichelvan said that they zeroed in on the kidnappers through CCTV footage from the GH and tracked them down. "Two persons were involved in the abduction and two others gave shelter to them. A couple, Thanziya (20) and Jhanbhasa (24), got married a few years back and had allegedly lost a few children to miscarriages. Yearning for a child the couple kidnapped the baby. Jhanbasha and Thanziya carried the baby on a motorcycle to her mother's home in Indur."

Police arrested Thanziya's mother Reshma and grandmother Begum who abetted the kidnapping. Kalaichelvan added that the four people were not a part of the child trafficking team. they had wanted a child of their own and pursued a wrong way," he added.