A four-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister went missing from the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Purnea, on Monday evening, officials said.
The children’s mother alleged that the siblings were abducted by two women. Police have launched a search operation to trace and recover the children.
According to a complaint, two women posing as relatives entered the ward and took the children—Shivam Kumar (4) and Lakshmi Kumari (3)—promising to buy them food. When they failed to return even after an hour, the woman’s eight-year-old daughter informed hospital staff, following which police were alerted.
“My eight-year-old daughter Shivani Kumari told me that the two women took the children with them. She raised an alarm, but no one came forward,” the ailing mother said.
Raj Nandini Sinha, station house officer (SHO) of the Phanishwar Nath Renu police outpost, who rushed to GMCH after the incident, said CCTV footage from the hospital had been secured. “The accused will be identified soon and the children will be recovered,” she said.
Police said the women who allegedly took the children may have been familiar with the mother, though the possibility of child theft has not been ruled out. “We are probing the case from all possible angles, but our first priority is to recover the children safely,” an officer said.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the women who allegedly took the children may have been familiar with the mother, though the possibility of child theft has not been ruled out. “We are probing the case from all possible angles, but our first priority is to recover the children safely,” an officer said.
{{/usCountry}}The mother, who has been undergoing treatment at GMCH since January 27 after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, said her husband died two months ago. She added that she and her three children were later forced out of their rented accommodation, leaving them to take shelter on the roadside.
“On January 27, I fell unconscious and someone got me admitted to GMCH Purnea. Since then, I have been undergoing treatment here,” she said, appealing to authorities to help bring her children back.