Bengaluru: Stolen baby rescued, reunited with mother

BENGALURU: It was an emotional reunion for Fareeda with her one-week-old son at Bowring Hospital on Wednesday, when the police arrived with the infant after rescuing it from Shivamogga. The baby was stolen from the hospital on Sunday after a burqa-clad woman befriended the mother and sneaked away with the infant.

Officials from the Commercial Street police station rescued the infant from the house of the accused woman’s brother in Shivamogga on Wednesday morning, after they received a tipoff. The woman, Zubeena, stole the baby and left it at her brother Kareem’s house in Shivamogga. Zubeena is missing and the police team is in Shivamogga to trace her, a senior officer said.

“The baby was brought to the city in an ambulance accompanied by a woman police constable. Necessary permissions were obtained from the magistrate so that the child could be handed over to the mother immediately. After medical tests the baby was handed over,” said DCP East Division Satheesh Kumar.

“Though the baby was in the NICU when it was stolen, he appears to be fine. We will also do DNA matching,” he said. Only after Zubeena is caught, we will be able to establish whether it was a baby lifting racket,” said an officer.