Woman arrested in connection with the child theft case admitted to the hospital

Published On: February 24, 2024 05:00 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

KATHMANDU, Feb 24: A woman, who was arrested for stealing a baby from the Maternity & Women’s Hospital in Thapathali, has been admitted to the hospital.

Mankumari Singh, a resident of Dailekh, was admitted to KMC Hospital in Sinamangal after suffering from high blood pressure, Chief of District Police Range, Kathmandu, SSP Bhupendra Khatri said.

A 26-day-old baby of a woman from Kavre went missing around 12 noon on Friday. Soon after, District Police Range, Kathmandu, and Valley Crime Investigation Office started an investigation by collecting closed-circuit (CC) camera footage.

During the investigation, a masked woman was observed carrying an infant. Later that night, police located Singh in Kandaghari and rescued the baby. Police handed over the child to the concerned family at night.

Subsequently, police took Singh, her husband, and sister into custody. However, she was taken to the hospital due to high blood pressure while under police custody.

According to officials from the District Police Range, Kathmandu, Singh had recently suffered a miscarriage, as reported by her family, who claimed she was seven months pregnant. However, she became distraught when she remained childless.

"She had not disclosed the truth to her husband about her miscarriage," an investigating officer stated. "Her husband, who is serving in the Nepali Army, returned home upon being informed of the birth of a child. It was only when the police arrived that he discovered the child was not his own, initially shocked to learn the truth," added the officer.

According to the police officers, she was found to be deranged after having suffered from miscarriage multiple times. They say that when she reached the maternity hospital on Friday, she found that the baby of the Kavre woman, who hails from Kavre, was abducted by Singh. She is still claiming that the child is her own.

However, according to the police, it was confirmed that the child was indeed stolen from the maternity hospital based on the CCTV footage. It is seen that she took a taxi to Pepsicola with the child, then walked one and a half kilometers to reach home. It was also found that her sister went to pick her up about a kilometer ahead.