Woman offers govt assistance to young mom, steals newborn boy in Kannagi Nagar

CHENNAI: An unidentified woman who posed as a government official allegedly stole a newborn baby boy from a young mother in Kannagi Nagar by promising welfare aid and health benefits for her and the child. Based on the complaint filed by the woman and her husband, the police have collected CCTV footage of the woman and have launched a hunt for her.

According to the police, Nishanthi of Kannagi Nagar gave birth to a baby boy at Government Kasturbha Gandhi Hospital six weeks ago. On Thursday, while she was alone at home, a woman aged about 40, approached her and started explaining various welfare schemes that are available for young mothers like her.

She wore an ID card and carried a file to look the part, and smooth-talked Nishanthi into believing that she was an actual government employee.

After convincing Nishanthi, the woman told her to accompany her to T Nagar 'complete the process'. They went on an auto-rickshaw to T Nagar, where they stopped for lunch.

While at the restaurant, Nishanthi handed her baby over to the woman and went to the restroom. When she returned, she found the baby and the 'government employee' missing.

After frantically searching for her child, Nishanthi realised that she was deceived.

Nishanthi immediately rushed back home and informed her husband Kumar, an auto-rickshaw driver. The couple lodged a complaint with Kannagi Nagar police station.

Following this, the police launched a manhunt for the suspect, who is described as wearing a salwar kameez and covering her head with a dupatta.

Police have collected the CCTV footage from near Nishanthi's home. Police also found that the suspect had been asking about newborn children in the neighbourhood for the past two days.