Neighbour among 4 held for kidnapping days-old infant in Punjabi Bagh

According to police, the girl’s mother had stepped out for some work on Friday, leaving her infant daughter in the shanty.

Delhi Police on Saturday arrested four people, including three women, for allegedly kidnapping a 45-day-old infant girl from a shanty in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh area, police said on Sunday, adding that the infant was rescued within hours.

 (File Photo)

According to police, the girl’s mother had stepped out for some work on Friday, leaving her infant daughter in the shanty. When she returned, she found her neighbour, Bhawna, in the shanty but could not find her daughter. “She dragged Bhawna to the police station, alleging that she and her accomplices kidnapped her daughter,” said a senior police officer.

“The woman and Bhawna live in the same neighbourhood. A police team was formed to find the infant and investigate the case. With the help of technical assistance, police traced all the suspects and arrested them from Punjabi Bagh early Saturday,” said deputy commissioner of police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal.

Police said the infant was rescued within three hours of registration of the case and was handed over to her family.

Police identified the suspects as Bhawna (28) and Pawan (29), residents of Kishanganj; Rekha Jain (50), a resident of Shakarpur; and Babita Jain (38), a resident of Mojpur.

“During questioning, Bhawna said she couldn’t conceive as she had a few miscarriages. She kidnapped the infant girl to be a mother and involved other people in her plan,” said the DCP.

A case has been registered against the suspects under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.