Police today arrested a woman on charges of kidnapping a three-day-old female child from the government hospital yesterday and rescued the child from her house.

The infant was kidnapped from the maternity ward last evening, as its mother Jothi had handed over it to a woman standing near the bed to go to the toilet.

Police managed to trace the woman based on information by a taxi driver, who was identified through CCTV footage. He had dropped the woman to her house in Vellakinar on the outskirts of the city. The child was rescued and handed over to its mother around 10 pm last night, police said.

In a bizarre confession, the kidnapper, Archana, said that she could not conceive after an abortion some four years ago and hurt over the nasty comments from relatives and neighbours, had decided to steal a baby, police said.

Since January she pretended to be pregnant and used to frequent the government hospital on the pretext of check-ups, and gradually decided to steal a baby. She learnt that Jothi was not happy to deliver a female child.

She informed her husband and relatives that she had had a girl child and would be returning home on Thursday night, and then stole the baby and took her to her house in Vellakinar.

After recording her statement, police produced Archana before a Judicial Magistrate court this morning and remanded and lodged her in the Central Jail.