A newborn boy, who had been missing from the Narayani Sub-regional Hospital for 48 hours, was rescued on Sunday.

Police rescued the infant from Belwa-9 in Parsa district at around 1pm. The baby was handed over to his mother Aasha Devi Paswan. Medical Superintendent Dr Chittaranjan Sah said the baby has been admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The newborn was lost three hours after delivery at the hospital at 10:40am on Friday. Aasha Devi’s mother-in-law Ramawati and her kin had claimed that someone frequenting there had stolen the baby, charging the hospital administration with carelessness. Ramawati had informed hospital security that the baby was lost soon after a nurse gave it a shot at around 1pm.

Police arrested Lalasa Devi, 22, on the charge of “stealing” the infant. She is said to have “hidden” the baby at her maternal home in Belwa-9.

According to Superintendent of Police Gobinda Kumar Sah, Lalasa admitted to have grabbed the baby. Police said she had been looking for an opportune time to steal a baby from the hospital for a month. Married for five years, the accused is childless. SP Sah said they are investigating possible involvement of the hospital staff in the crime.

Police had been watching Lalasa’s brother after some locals tipped them that a woman had reached his rented apartment in Birgunj with a newborn. She had stayed there briefly before leaving for her maternal home.

“At first, she claimed that the baby was hers. She confessed to her crime after we warned that she would have to undergo medical examination,” said a police officer who rescued the baby.