Three people have been arrested in connection with the ‘theft’ of a baby from a Thapathali-based hospital on Friday.

According to the police, a 24-year-old woman, her 28-year-old husband, and her elder sister have been taken into police custody under suspicion of their alleged involvement in the theft of a baby from the Paropakar Maternity & Women’s Hospital in Thapathali.

The accused were arrested from their rented room in Kadaghari of Kageshwari-Manohara municipality, police said in a notice on Saturday.

On Friday, a 26-day-old baby of Kavrepalanchok local Sabina Shrestha had allegedly been stolen from the Thapathali-based hospital.

The 22-year-old mother was heading towards a dustbin to discard her trash when a strange woman approached her, offering to help her carry her baby. The woman was nowhere to be found when Shrestha returned, said Superintendent of Police Nawaraj Adhikari, also spokesperson for the district police range.

The child has been rescued and both the mother and the baby have been taken to the Nepal Medical College in Sinamangal for treatment.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.