Infant was abducted by her father's friend yesterday from the shanty she shares with her parents and nine siblings; no arrests yet
Three-month-old Shravani with mother Devli Singh
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Three-month-old Shravani, who was abducted early Monday, was rescued by the Kandivli police early this morning and reunited with her mother. The police have detained six women and a man who were allegedly involved in the alleged crime. A probe revealed that the kidnapped child was sold for Rs. 10,000 to a Trombay family.
Shravani was abducted on Monday morning from her makeshift shanty on the footpath opposite the Muslim cemetery on Marve Road, where her parents and nine siblings were fast asleep. After an FIR was registered by the police, a manhunt was launched to trace the child. During investigations, the police found a local CCTV camera that had captured the crime. In the CCTV grab one woman is seen walking into the shanty and then walking away with the child. "The father of the child said the person in the footage looked like his friend Arati Patel," said a police officer.
Police then detained Patel and during sustained interrogation, she admitted to having abducted the child. She told the police that she has kept the child at a relative’s house in Trombay. A police team went to the Trombay address and brought the child back. Patel had named five other women and a man during investigation. Police are trying to ascertain their role in the crime and are questioning all.
The police have so far not made any arrest in the case, but the same is expected later in the day.