Mumbai: One-year-old kidnapped near SNDT college rescued from Solapur in 48 hrs

The accused has been arrested under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with kidnapping. Representation pic

The Mumbai crime branch on Wednesday rescued a one-year-old girl, Fatima Shaikh, from the clutches of her kidnapper in about 48 hours. The girl was lifted by a woman from the footpath near SNDT college at Santacruz West while her mother and she were asleep on October 30.

Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar confirmed to mid-day that the girl child has been rescued and added that the accused has been arrested. "The matter is being investigated to determine if any sophisticated gang was involved in the crime," said Phansalkar. According to the crime branch, the kidnapping occurred between 10 pm on Sunday and 1 am on Monday. The case of kidnapping was registered with the Santacruz police station and the case was handed to unit 9 of the crime branch.

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"We examined footage from hundreds of CCTV cameras and based on technical details and human intelligence, the woman was traced to Solapur and the child was successfully rescued," the officer said. The accused has been arrested under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with kidnapping, and will be produced in court on Thursday.

Sources have said the crime branch is investigating if the accused is part of a kidnapping syndicate which forces minors into begging. The police have also learnt that the woman arrested from Solapur had travelled to Telangana after allegedly kidnapping the minor.