Mumbai: Kurar and Malwani police arrest five for kidnapping

Police officers with the girl and her mother at Kurar police station

The Kurar and Malwani police rescued two kidnapped children this week despite their busy schedule. While four people involved in the first kidnapping, arrested on Thursday had tried to sell the child, a woman longed for a male child and decided to kidnap for the same in another case. She was arrested on Friday.

The first incident unfolded late on Tuesday night when a 2-year-old girl was abducted near a bridge in Malad East. She was later discovered outside the Manidar temple at Dadar station.

The accused woman is seen in CCTV footage carrying the boy away

The family of the child, which sells toys on the bustling streets of Mumbai, resides beneath the flyover on the Western Express Highway at Malad. On Tuesday night, the parents woke up and did not find her with them. After a frantic search, they filed a complaint with the Kurar police.

Found in Dadar

Determined to reunite the child with her family, the police combed the local area for leads. But the Dadar Government Railway Police (GRP) informed them that a 2-year-old girl had been found in front of a temple at Dadar Station Flat No. 1. On being shown her photograph, the distressed parents identified their child, and the police reunited the girl with her grateful family.

"It was revealed that the four individuals responsible for the kidnapping intended to sell the child for profit. However, the prospective buyer backed out on realizing that the child was older than initially believed. Consequently, the culprits abandoned the girl outside the temple and fled. Alerted to the situation, a citizen contacted the police, leading to the apprehension of the kidnappers and their associates," said a police source.

"The arrested individuals are believed to be affiliated to a notorious child-lifting syndicate, to traffic children to meet the demands of those seeking to adopt or acquire children," said an officer from Kurar police station.

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Tempted with Rs 200

In the other case, the Malwani police apprehended a 28-year-old woman who had abducted a one-and-a-half-year-old boy near the Gaondevi temple. According to police sources, the child had been playing in a garden with his 8-year-old sister on late Thursday evening when the accused approached. She enticed the girl with Rs 200 and asked her to fetch biscuits. When the sister returned, the toddler and the woman had vanished.

The child's parents had been away at the market, and upon their return, they were informed of the incident by their daughter. They searched the neighbourhood and lodged a complaint with the police.

"Under the supervision of Senior Inspector Chimaji Adhav, the Malwani police formed multiple teams, amid their busy Ganpati Bandobast. They examined numerous CCTV footages from the vicinity and other locations. Soon they found footage showing the accused walking with the kidnapped child. This led to her apprehension and the rescue of the child," said DCP Ajaykumar Bansal Zone XI.

"During the course of investigation, it was revealed that the accused was married with two daughters, aged 6 and 3, and resided with her husband in Rathodi at Malwani. Her motive for the abduction stemmed from her desperate desire to have a son," said another officer.