Delhi: Woman kidnaps infant from GTB Hospital; accused arrested, child rescued

A six-month-old infant, who was allegedly kidnapped from Delhi’s GTB Hospital by a woman seeking to pass him off as her own child, was rescued within 30 hours, police said on Wednesday.

Kanchan, 45, allegedly befriended the child’s mother by posing as a person who facilitated vaccination of children and later abducted the infant from the hospital on May 31. She was arrested from a cluster near Shivaji Park, where the child was found safe, police said.

A life convict in a 2007 kidnapping and murder case registered at M S Park police station, Kanchan, had allegedly absconded after failing to surrender upon completion of her parole period and had been living at different locations to evade arrest.

According to investigators, the complainant, a resident of Seelampur, had met the woman a few days before the incident when she visited her home claiming to assist with child vaccination. On May 31, the accused accompanied the woman and her six-month-old son to GTB Hospital for vaccination.

After reaching the Mother and Child Health (MCH) building, the accused gained the mother’s confidence and offered to help complete formalities. She allegedly took custody of the infant on the pretext of assisting her and fled from the hospital premises.

A case was registered at GTB Enclave police station under relevant provisions of the BNS, following which three special teams were formed to trace the child.

Police said the investigation involved extensive analysis of CCTV footage, technical surveillance, mobile phone data examination and tracking of the accused’s movements through Delhi Metro surveillance systems.

The breakthrough came after investigators traced the suspect to the Shivaji Park area. Acting on specific intelligence, a police team conducted a raid at a jhuggi and rescued the infant unharmed before arresting the accused.

During interrogation, the woman allegedly disclosed that she had given birth to twins in November 2025, but both children later died. She concealed their deaths from her husband and in-laws and continued to claim that the children were alive.

As pressure mounted from her family to bring the children home, she feared the truth would be exposed and allegedly decided to obtain a child illegally. She then targeted the complainant and executed the kidnapping plan, police said.

The rescued infant was reunited with his mother. Further investigation is underway, police said.