Newborn kidnapped from hospital

LAHORE:

A two-day-old infant was kidnapped from the nursery of Lahore General Hospital allegedly due to the negligence of the ward administration.

The baby boy was abducted by two unidentified women who gained access to the nursery ward and fled with the child.

The father of the newborn, Muhammad Afzal, a resident of Lahore, lodged a complaint at Kot Lakhpat police station, leading to the registration of a case under Section 363 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Afzal stated in his written application that his wife had given birth to a baby boy on August 30 at around 1:30am. The child was shifted to the nursery ward, where he remained for two days. On September 1, hospital staff member Ambreen called Afzal to confirm whether he had collected his child. Afzal said he had not, and upon checking CCTV footage, it was discovered that two women had taken the baby without presenting the required card.

The complainant alleged that the abduction took place due to "gross negligence" on the part of the nursery ward staff, who failed to verify the identity of the women before handing over the child.

SP Tarar said a special police team had been constituted to investigate the case and recover the baby. He assured that those responsible would be brought to justice. "The culprits involved in the abduction will be arrested soon," he added.