Bengaluru, February 27: A city court has sentenced a 36-year-old psychiatrist to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for abducting a newborn boy and selling him for Rs 14.5 lakh in 2020. Rashmi Shashikumar, a resident of Nagarbhavi, was also fined Rs 1 lakh by Judge C B Santosh. Rashmi, who had been out on bail, was present in court when the verdict was delivered on February 19. She was taken into custody immediately and sent to Bengaluru central prison. The case dates back to May 29, 2020, when a newborn was stolen from the BBMP (civic body) Hospital in Chamarajpet.

The child's mother, who had just given birth, fell asleep after taking medication prescribed by a doctor. When she woke up 45 minutes later, her baby was missing. A police complaint was lodged, but it took nearly a year to trace the child and arrest Rashmi. On May 29, 2021, police recovered the infant from a couple in North Karnataka, who had been misled into believing the baby was theirs through surrogacy. Bengaluru Shocker: Newborn Baby’s Body Found in Train Dustbin at Yelahanka Railway Station; Probe On.

Shockingly, when officers arrived at their home, they found the couple joyfully celebrating the child's first birthday, unaware of the deception. The investigation was a painstaking effort involving over 700 witness interviews, the analysis of 300 CCTV recordings, and the examination of 5,000 phone call records. With the help of CCTV footage, police created a suspect's sketch, which eventually led them to Rashmi and the unsuspecting couple. According to the chargesheet, Rashmi had met the couple in 2015 while working at a private hospital in Hubballi.

The couple had a child with special needs, and Rashmi assured them that surrogacy could help them have a healthy baby. In 2019, she collected biological samples from the father, falsely claiming she had found a surrogate mother in Bengaluru. She also took Rs 14.5 lakh from them, promising a baby by May 2020. As the date approached, Rashmi identified BBMP Hospital as her target due to its lax security. She visited the maternity ward multiple times before carrying out the abduction. Newborn Killed in Bengaluru: Baby Found Dead in Water Tank, Murder Investigation Underway.

On May 29, she instructed a hospital attendant to give the mother sleeping pills. Once the mother was unconscious, Rashmi took the baby and left. She handed the child over to the couple at a friend's house in Vijayanagar. The trial was filled with emotional moments as both the biological parents and the North Karnataka couple recounted their experiences. The child's biological parents had lost all hope of seeing their son again, while the woman who had raised him for a year was devastated upon learning the truth.

Public prosecutor B H Bhaskar stated that DNA tests confirmed the child's biological parents. Additionally, bank records showed that Rashmi had received Rs 14.5 lakh from the couple, and phone records revealed a longstanding connection between them. Mobile tower data further placed Rashmi at the hospital on the day of the kidnapping. These pieces of evidence were crucial in securing her conviction.

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