A 3-year-old boy went missing from Stanley Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday, reports The Hindu. He had gone to the hospital with his mother in the morning.
The child, who police have identified as Mohammad Asif, was in his school uniform, according to the Times of India, when the incident happened.
Asif is the son of Mohammed Barkath and Hasina Banu who live at MKB Nagar. Barkath reportedly runs a butcher shop.
Hasina Banu, according to The Hindu report, was unwell on Wednesday and her elder son, Jaffer (5), was suffering from a throat infection. She was to drop the children in school, following the hospital visit.
According to the ToI report, she was accompanied by her sisters and another relative. The boy went missing when they were waiting on the first floor of the hospital for an outpatient slip. "When I got to counter 3, I put my son on the floor. I got the slip and turned to Asif but he was not there," Banu reportedly said.
When Banu enquired with others standing in the line, one person reportedly said that they saw a woman walking away with a child. However, the alleged lack of CCTVs on the first floor made it difficult to crosscheck the information.
As per The Hindu, the Assistant Commissioner of Police and Inspector of Washermenpet rushed to the spot to conduct an investigation and interrogated hospital staff.
In October, in a similar case of abduction, a woman in a yellow saree was allegedly seen walking away with a 3-day-old infant, according to ToI.
This was the second such case at the Salem Government hospital, in that month itself. The mother had placed the infant in the crib and gone to use the washroom. On her return, the child was reportedly missing. Examination of CCTV footage showed that eyewitnesses had indeed spotted the abductor.