A three-day-old girl child was kidnapped from the maternity ward of the government hospital here today.

Jyothi, 23, had delivered a child on November 8, and both mother and child were recovering in the maternity ward, police said. Jyothi handed over the child to a woman, standing along with two others near her bed, to go to the toilet around 3.30 pm, they said.

To her shock, on her return, she found the women and the child missing and raised the alarm with hospital authorities, who in turn informed the police.

A search is on for the infant and women, police said.