Baby’s abduction: more security for all medical colleges

Separate cases charged against accused woman, her friend; govt., Kottyam MCH launch probe

Taking a serious note of the porous security arrangements at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Kottayam, from where a two-day-old girl was abducted the other day, the State government on Friday directed the Director of Medical Education to beef up security at medical college hospitals across the State.

The directive, issued by Health Minister Veena George, stipulated all hospital staff to wear ID cards. The Minister called for a review of the security mechanism in all hospitals and directed that CCTV cameras be installed where required.

Alongside, an inquiry by the Joint Director at the Directorate of Medical Education has been launched into the abduction episode. The MCH too has constituted a four-member team led by its Resident Medical Officer to investigate the security lapse.

Reason cited

The police team probing the abduction case found that the accused woman, identified as Neethu R. Raj, 33, had plotted the kidnap to prevent her friend from marrying another woman. The accused, whose husband is employed in Turkey, had been in a relationship with a man identified as Ibrahim Badusha.

On learning that Badusha was planning to marry another woman, Neethu told him that she was pregnant. As it turned out to be a miscarriage, she decided to abduct a baby to convince Badusha and his relatives.

“Soon after kidnapping the baby, the accused sent a photo of the baby to Badusha. Though a video call she also informed Badusha’s relatives about her delivery and the new-born,” said Shilpa Devaiah, District Police Chief, Kottayam.

Cheating case

While the investigations revealed that the kidnap was executed by the woman on her own, the police also arrested Badusha on charges of cheating her of gold and cash worth ₹30 lakh by offering to marry her. “There are two separate cases. In the kidnap incident, Neethu is the lone accused. On the basis of Neethu’s statement, a separate case has been registered against the man for cheating and theft,” the official added.

Sources said Badusha would be also booked under provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly assaulting Neethu’s eight-year-old son on many occasions. Neethu, meanwhile, was booked for criminal trespass, abduction and provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, among others.

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