Three arrested for kidnapping 3-yr-old girl from north Delhi

The couple allegedly used their six-year-old relative to lure the girl to Old Delhi Railway Station.

A couple and their 26-year-old son-in-law have been arrested for kidnapping a three-year-old girl from her father’s shop in north Delhi’s Kashmere Gate for allegedly trafficking her for money, police said on Sunday.

Three arrested for kidnapping 3-yr-old girl from north Delhi

Deputy commissioner of police (North) Raja Banthia said the girl, who was kidnapped on January 12, was rescued after a four-day search. Two minors who were being forced into begging by the suspects were also rescued during the operation, Banthia said.

The suspects were identified as 52-year-old Anis, his wife Nazeema (52), and their son-in-law Shamshad Alam, all residents of Seelampur. The couple allegedly used their six-year-old relative to lure the girl to Old Delhi Railway Station.

According to police, the kidnapping was reported by the girl’s father, a shopkeeper in the Kashmere Gate auto parts market on January 12. “The man informed police that his daughter had disappeared from the shop around 6.30pm. The man said his wife had died about a year ago, and he would bring the child to work with him,” a police officer said.

A case was registered and a search operation launched. A detailed examination of CCTV footage from the area showed that the girl had been lured away by another minor, and taken towards the Old Delhi Railway Station. “The six-year-old handed over the girl to the suspects already waiting at the station, after which they vanished into the crowd,” Banthia said.

Police said the search was widened to multiple railway stations in Delhi and neighbouring areas, scanning nearly 400 CCTV cameras and conducting physical searches across platforms, waiting halls, foot overbridges and surrounding localities.

“A crucial breakthrough came when the team spotted a brief CCTV glimpse of the suspects in an e-rickshaw near Old Iron Bridge. Following this lead, police traced their possible movement in a 12-kilometre radius, and deployed teams in the Welcome area while simultaneously gathering local intelligence,” Banthia said.

On Saturday, police found the kidnapped child with the couple near a Hanuman Mandir in Yamuna Bazar. The child was rescued unharmed, police said.

The couple and their son-in-law were arrested, and two other minors — aged seven and ten — were rescued from being forced into begging. During questioning, the suspects admitted to kidnapping the minor girl and confessed to changing their rented accommodation the same night, police said.

“During questioning, they disclosed that they were planning to traffic the minor girl to Nepal, and were exploring options of selling her either to a childless couple, a begging syndicate or for organ trafficking in lieu of money,” said Banthia.

Further investigation is underway to probe possible links with larger trafficking networks, police said.