Chennai police probe child theft complaint against fertility hospital, couple

CHENNAI: The city police have booked a doctor of a private fertility clinic in Kolathur and a couple, and have begun investigations after a 27-year-old woman, who was admitted in the clinic, alleged that her newborn son was handed over to the couple by the hospital staff. Police said that there are contradicting versions from the complainant.

The complainant, K Megala of Chengalpattu, is a daily wage labourer. She was three months pregnant with her second child when her husband died due to natural causes in February 2025, police said. She already had a four-year-old son.

According to her complaint, Meghala saw an ad on social media offering free medical treatment at a hospital in Kolathur. She visited the hospital during her seventh month of pregnancy and shared her financial situation with doctors and staff there.

Meghala gave birth to a boy at the hospital on July 29, 2025. She said the hospital initially told her that the baby had to be kept in isolation and showed him only 10 days later. She also said that another doctor introduced her to a childless couple from Tiruvottiyur and suggested that they keep the baby for three months before returning him to which Meghala agreed.

When she approached the couple recently and sought the child’s return, they refused, prompting her to approach the police. Police are examining the circumstances under which the child was handed over to the couple.