The newborn girl, who was stolen from a government hospital in West Bengal's Purba Barddhaman district, was rescued on 20th January and the main accused in the case arrested within 24 hours of the incident, police said.

The baby was rescued from a bus while the woman, identified as Madhumita Banerjee, was taking her to Durgapur, they said. The woman, a resident of Raina area in the district, left her husband and was staying with another man in Durgapur, police said who are yet to find out the motive behind the theft. The woman lured the newborn's parents with the promise of getting them money from a government scheme, police said.

The accused woman was identified through CCTV footage of the hospital, police said. The girl was born in the maternity ward of the Barddhaman Medical College and Hospital on Friday and the baby and her mother, were released on January 19, Deputy Superintendent of the hospital Dr Amitabha Saha said. When the family members were leaving the hospital, the woman came to them claiming to be a social worker. She told them that the government provides Rs 6,000 to all girl child born in hospitals, Saha said.

The accused woman took them to another government hospital and send the newborn's parents on errands and fled with the baby. The baby has been handed over to her parents, officials said. Police said they are further investigating the matter.