Kidnapped five-year-old boy rescued, duo who tried to sell him for ₹1 lakh arrested

During interrogation, they admitted they were posing as the child’s biological parents while attempting to sell him

A five-year-old boy, who was kidnapped from outside his house in Shakurpur near Netaji Subhash Place in northwest Delhi last week, was safely rescued after police arrested two people who had allegedly tried to sell him in Kolkata for ₹1 lakh, senior police officers said on Friday.

During the investigation, police scanned CCTV footage from the area and found that the boy had been taken away by a woman. (Representational image)

One of the accused, identified as Kajal (single name), 29, was arrested from a Delhi-bound train at Tundla railway station in Uttar Pradesh while travelling with the child. Her associate, Ranjeet Shah alias Neeraj, was arrested earlier from his hometown Khagaria in Bihar, said additional commissioner of police (northwest) Bhisham Singh.

“The two accused belong to Khagaria. They had taken the boy to Kolkata via Patna and attempted to sell him there. However, the deal did not work out and they were searching for another buyer when our team intercepted them and rescued the child. During interrogation, they admitted they were posing as the child’s biological parents while attempting to sell him,” Singh said.

The officer said the boy went missing on January 9 while playing outside his house in Shakurpur JJ Colony. When his family failed to locate him, they lodged a missing person complaint at the Netaji Subhash Place police station. A kidnapping case was registered on the complaint of the boy’s father, Mohammad Sahid, 38, and multiple teams were formed to trace the child.

The man she was in contact with was identified as Ranjeet Shah, who lived in the boy’s neighbourhood. Further tracking revealed Shah’s location in Khagaria, where he was arrested on January 11. During questioning, he disclosed that the child was with Kajal, who had boarded a Delhi-bound train from Khagaria the same day.

Police then checked CCTV footage at the railway station, which helped them identify the train. Teams were deployed at Kanpur and Tundla railway stations. Officers boarded the Vaishali Express and began searching the coaches.

“They found Kajal sleeping on a seat with the kidnapped child. She was arrested at Tundla railway station and the boy was rescued safely. Both were brought back to Delhi in a police vehicle, and the child has since been reunited with his family,” Singh added.