BHIWANDI: More than a fortnight after an infant had been kidnapped from Bhiwandi, the six-month-old boy was rescued from a Naxalite-infested area in Jharkhand and was reunited with his parents on Monday.
Three people, including a childless woman from Jharkhand, have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping case.
On April 14, Arbaz Ansari's mother, Shahana, had dropped the child off at his aunt's house as the mother had to go to the market to shop for Ramzan. Arbaz was crawling right outside the aunt's doorstep when he disappeared. As he was nowhere to be found, the child's aunt, along with his parents, later approached the police. A case of kidnapping was filed at Naroli police station.
Two police teams led by senior inspector Shankar Indalkar scanned footage of cameras installed around the place where the aunt lives. "Our teams zeroed in on one person, Afroz Shaikh, as the suspect," said deputy commissioner of police Navnath Davale.
Shaikh was detained and during interrogation, he revealed that he had lifted the baby at the instructions of his acquaintance, Shambhu Shahu, said the police officer. Shambhu was picked up from Kalyan railway station. "Shambhu confessed that he had sold the baby for Rs 2 lakh to Manjudevi Shahu who lives in Jharkhand," said Indalkar.
A police team led by assistant inspector Shailendra Mahatre was sent to the Naxalite-dominated Jitkundi village in Giridih district and the child was rescued. Manjudevi was arrested and has now been brought to Bhiwandi.
The woman, who has been married for 15 years, has no children. She had got in touch with Shambhu who hails from her village and works in Bhiwandi.
"After kidnapping Arbaz, Shaikh had handed the baby over to Shambhu who in turn gave him to Manjudevi who had visited Bhiwandi. After the deal was settled, she carried the infant to Jharkhand by flight."
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