Couple bought kidnapped infant in Delhi; 5 held, child rescued

Police arrested the couple who bought the child for ₹1.5 lakh. The couple had four daughters and wanted a boy.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police arrested four women and a man for allegedly kidnapping and selling a 1.5-month-old baby in Delhi six months ago.

Police said the accused used to sell toys outside the Seelampur metro station.

Police busted the racket and also arrested the couple who “bought” the child for ₹1.5 lakh. The couple had four daughters and wanted a boy, they added.

According to the police, the incident took place at Seelampur metro station on June 4. The complainant alleged that a woman came to offer help when she was taking the child to her mother’s place but instead stole her child.

Kushal Pal Singh, DCP (metro) said the police team looked at routes taken by the woman for months but she kept changing her hideous.

He said they traced the location of the accused, identified as Devaki Bahadur, 22, to Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. “Surveillance confirmed that the accused was staying in the area for sometime. A team was sent there and found that she was hiding in the Hamirpur area. She was arrested from her rented room,” the DCP said.

Devaki revealed that she along with her friends kidnapped and sold the baby, police said.

Police said the accused used to sell toys outside the Seelampur metro station. “She said she was working with a woman named Manju Devi (44) who worked at an Anganwadi in Gandhi Nagar and knew many childless couples. Manju tried to sell the child and kept him for a few days but later returned him to Devaki. She kept the child for 15 days and then sold him to a couple in Arya Nagar” said the DCP.

Police said both Manju and Devaki led them to the couple and the baby in Arya Nagar.

The child was found this week, said the police, adding that Baneeta Singh (35) and Dheer Singh (40) were arrested for buying the baby and another associate named Sheela (35), a house help, was arrested for connecting the couple to Devaki.

Dheer works as a private contractor for camera installation. The rescued child was produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and was safely handed over to his family, police added.