'Maternal instincts kicked in': Mother's newborn kidnapped, rescued same day

New Delhi: It seems maternal instincts are not a myth. A woman whose newborn was stolen from her at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Tuesday but was recovered the same day has said that her "maternal instincts" kicked in during the time of crisis.

Geeta (name changed) had a second child after a gap of eight years on April 14; however, her ecstasy quickly turned into agony a day later when the accused, Pooja, allegedly kidnapped her baby girl.

The 27-year-old woman, who herself was childless even after seven years of marriage, kidnapped the one-day-old baby on April 15 from the postnatal care ward at 3.17 pm, according to a police statement.

The police said the accused pretended to get admitted to the hospital on April 14 — the same day Geeta had her baby — and deceived her husband into believing that she was pregnant.

Pooja had been at her maternal home in Delhi for some time, whereas her husband was in Faridabad.  Recalling the moment when she discovered her child was missing, Geeta said she had gone to get a cup of tea from the cafeteria.

"My maternal instincts kicked in when I heard cries of babies from the postnatal care ward. I wanted to check if my girl was fine or not. When I went to check, she was gone. I felt like I would die," she said.

"I did see that woman (Pooja) around 10 am (on April 15) near the ward. I felt like something was wrong but did not think much of it. She also kept trying to talk to other patients. But as soon as my baby was missing, I knew it had to be her," the mother added.  The infant is the second daughter of the couple, who resides in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri and hails from Basti district in Uttar Pradesh. The couple, still shaken, recounted their traumatic ordeal as they were reunited with their child.

"We never thought of having another baby. We are not rich. We were worried about how we would raise her, educate her, and marry her off. But our family encouraged us, and we finally decided to," Geeta added.

Geeta’s husband said he felt numb when they realised their daughter was missing. "We were just crying inconsolably. Despite not wanting to have a second child for the longest time, the baby brought so much joy to us. We didn’t know what to do," he said. 

He also thanked the Delhi Police for bringing their daughter back safely. "We cannot express our gratitude enough," he remarked.

A case was registered at the Safdarjung Enclave Police Station as soon as the complaint was received on April 15. CCTV footage was analysed, and a team tracked the accused’s movements through metro stations and local areas. The accused was eventually located in Malviya Nagar, and the baby was safely recovered.

Pooja is currently being interrogated, and further investigation is underway, police said.