Police finally recovered the infant stolen from the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), and arrested a woman and her daughter for their alleged involvement in the crime from Chopra in North Dinajpur district late last night.

The accused were produced in the Siliguri additional judicial magistrate court, which sent them in four days’ police remand today, sources said.

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The child, who was three days old when he was stolen from the gynecology and obstetrics ward of the hospital on 20 April, has now been admitted in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the NBMCH for examination, it is learnt.

Although police recovered the child and tracked down the suspects within two days of the crime, a feat that drew praise from all quarters, the overall security system at the NBMCH still remains under the scanner.

According to police officers, electronic evidences like CCTV camera footage installed at different locations of the Siliguri Police Commissionerate, partial footage from the NBMCH, and developing their source network helped in cracking the important case. They had also taken help from a portrait artist.

Sources said Sita Das, 45, had stolen the child from the ward for her daughter Anju, as the latter had failed bear any child, which had also led to a divorce with her husband, a resident of Bihar.

Police have registered a case of kidnapping, based on complaints. The arrested have been booked under sections 363 and 365 of the Indian Penal Code.

“Sita Das had arrived at the NBMCH on 19 April to execute the plan and she tried to get close to Ranjita Singha, a resident of Kharibari, who gave birth to a baby boy on 18 April and was admitted to the ward after postpartum hemorrhage. She spent the night outside the ward and tricked Mrs Singha by approaching her to complete her lunch and took away the baby the next day. All the police stations were alerted following the incident,” sources said. Police officers said the woman handed over the baby to her daughter who was waiting outside the area. They took an e-rickshaw to Siliguri Junction from there. CCTV cameras around the ward of the NBMCH had captured partial footage of the crime.

“They boarded a private bus for Chopra from Siliguri Junction. Police scanned the CCTV footage installed at different locations along the stretch, including Noukaghat, Siliguri Junction, and a special police team formed to investigate the case swung into action. The police recovered the child and arrested them at their residence at West Balarampur in Chopra. The local police also chipped in with help. A detailed investigation has started,” said additional deputy commissioner of police Subhendra Kumar. Police are also quizzing two brothers of Anju Das, Rahul and Pradip.

Accredited social health activists of North Dinajpur district also shared information about the duo with the police, the sources said.

The parents of the child, Mrs Singha and her husband Nityananda Singha, said they were very happy with the recovery of their child.