The Machilipatnam police in Andhra Pradesh were faced with a mysterious kidnapping case involving a six-day-old baby girl. The baby was just five days old when a woman kidnapped her from the premises of Machilipatnam district government hospital on Saturday, September 25. However, thanks to the vital clues provided by a gram volunteer and a Mahila police, the police were able to rescue the newborn within 24 hours.
According to the police, the accused introduced herself to the baby’s mother as a relative of the latter’s husband and stayed at the hospital for a night. Incidentally, the baby’s parents got married recently, and so she was allegedly not aware of her husband’s circle of relatives.
On Saturday, around 1:30 pm, the accused kidnapped the baby when the mother went for a walk. Upon realising that her baby was missing, the mother approached the hospital, who, in turn, alerted the Machilipatnam police.
Soon, the police formed 12 special teams and combed through the CCTV footage at the premises of the government hospital and zeroed in on the suspect. The suspect was seen walking out of the government hospital with the baby. However, the image was blurry and was not enough to identify the exact details of the suspect, according to the police.
Subsequently, the police alerted the surrounding police stations and sent the snapshot of the suspect, which they retrieved from the CCTV footage. They carried out vehicle checks at various places in the district to track the missing baby.
The police sent the message of the missing baby and the details of the suspect across social media platforms. Y Sirisha, a gram volunteer of Kruthivennu village, chanced upon the post and instantly contacted the police. Sirisha told the police that the accused was staying in the same ward that she looks after.
She further revealed more details about the accused, who has been living with her in-laws. According to the gram volunteer, the accused has been posing as a pregnant woman for the last seven months, but has not registered herself at the Anganwadi centre despite several reminders. She, however, said the accused allegedly had a miscarriage in the third month. However, the police later found that nobody in her family knew about the alleged miscarriage.
Meanwhile, after kidnapping the baby on Saturday afternoon, the accused went to her mother's house, which is located in the same village but a different area. The accused, however, told her mother that she had a pre-mature delivery on the road, that there was no one to take care and so she came back with the baby. Upon hearing this, the accused’s mother visited the accused’s in-laws and questioned them about leaving her daughter on her own.
The gram volunteer, who heard all this, felt suspicious and informed Mahila police P Sirisha that the accused could be this same lady who kidnapped the baby, as the features described by the police and shared on group matched with her. After a preliminary investigation, the police then confirmed the accused.
“The missing infant was traced to Munipeda village of Kruthivennu Mandal," said Siddharth Koushal, Krishna district Superintendent of Police, adding.
According to the police, "The accused has two male children. She got pregnant the third time and had a miscarriage, but kept the family in the dark.” The police further said that she desperately wanted a girl child, and she intentionally abducted the female infant, for which she went to her native village Munipeda village, Kruthivennu Mandal.
However, speaking to the media, the SP added, "All these factors and the motive behind the abduction should be ascertained." The accused has been arrested and a case was booked under 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“P Sireesha and Y Sirisha have yielded positive results,” the SP added.
P Sireesha, Mahila Police (left) and Y Sirisha, Gram Volunteer(right)
Gram volunteer and Mahila police are special temporary posts set up by the Andhra Pradesh government. Gram volunteer co-ordinates between public and government officials and helps them avail various schemes. One volunteer generally looks after about 50 houses. Mahila police increase awareness among women about crimes, their rights and helps them file cases whenever needed.