Delhi Woman Fakes Pregnancy, Kidnaps Newborn From Safdarjung Hospital To Pass Off As Her Own

The accused, Pooja Devi, convinced her husband, in-laws, and parents that she was pregnant, carrying out an elaborate deception over the past several months.

A 27-year-old Pooja Devi was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly kidnapping a newborn baby girl from the maternity ward of Safdarjung Hospital in an attempt to deceive her family into believing that she had given birth.

Over the past several months, the accused, Pooja Devi, convinced her husband, in-laws, and parents that she was pregnant, carrying out an elaborate deception. She even moved back to her parents’ house in Malviya Nagar, claiming her due date was near, Times Of India reported.

However, her charade unravelled on Tuesday when she abducted a one-day-old infant from the hospital, intending to pass the child off as her own.

How The Woman Fooled Her Family And Abducted The Baby

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Surendra Chaudhary, the infant was born on Monday to a couple residing in Yashwant Place, Chanakyapuri. The child's mother was in postnatal care in Ward 5 and had stepped out to get milk, when the baby went missing.

Soon after the child went missing, police registered a case under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for kidnapping at around 4:00 PM after the baby could not be found anywhere. They immediately began scanning CCTV footage from the hospital, which showed Devi loitering inside the ward where the baby was taken, interacting with several women, while keeping her face partially covered with a dupatta, the report said.

According to police, Devi did not use a prosthetic belly to feign pregnancy as her natural physique was "healthy enough" for her to appear visibly pregnant.

After fleeing the hospital, Devi took the child with her and boarded the Delhi Metro. She boarded from AIIMS, changed trains at INA to head toward Millennium City Centre, and finally exited at Hauz Khas, before heading toward the Panchsheel flyover in an autorickshaw, Hindustan Times reported.

"Eventually, she was spotted in an autorickshaw. We checked the registration numbers and ownership of more than 20 autorickshaws as the registration number was not clear in the footage," the DCP said.

The police then zeroed in on the autorickshaw and got to know from the driver that he had dropped the woman in Malviya Nagar. Upon raiding the location, police found Devi in a house with the stolen infant.

She was arrested within hours, and the infant reunited with her family unharmed.

During questioning, Devi revealed that she had been married to Pinku Kumar, a daily-wage labourer in Faridabad, for seven years. She said they had been unable to conceive, adding that though her husband never pressurised her, she felt a deep societal and emotional burden.

She planned everything nearly eight months ago, and told her family and in-laws that she was pregnant. She first left her marital home claiming her due date was near. On Monday, she left home to get admitted to Safdarjung Hospital for delivery, and returned on Tuesday with the stolen infant.

Police said her husband was unaware of the entire scheme. "She was driven by desperation and the pressure to become a mother in the eyes of her family and society," said an officer. "But the act she committed was not only criminal — it could have endangered the life of the child," HT report quoted the police officer as saying.

Police said Devi is in custody and is being booked for kidnapping the infant. After the incident, the hospital administration is reviewing its security protocols.