Baby boy kidnapped from footpath, rescued

A six-month-old baby boy, who went missing early on Saturday, was reunited with his parents within 12 hours by the Mahatma Phule police in Kalyan. The child, Arbaaz Sameer Shaikh, was kidnapped by a rickshaw driver and his tailor friend but was found in a house

Thane: A six-month-old baby boy, who went missing early on Saturday, was reunited with his parents within 12 hours by the Mahatma Phule police in Kalyan. The child, Arbaaz Sameer Shaikh, was kidnapped by a rickshaw driver and his tailor friend but was found in a house.

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The motive behind the kidnapping is still unclear, as the accused are not cooperating with the police, sources said. The incident occurred at a bus stop in front of a church on the Kalyan-Murbad road in Kalyan West. The complainant, Ayesha Sameer Shaikh, 20, lives with her husband, Sameer Shaikh, and their six-month-old son, Arbaaz, on the footpath at the bus stand.

The family, originally from Sinnar, had recently moved to Kalyan station and started living on the footpath as they found work collecting scraps.

The arrested accused are Dinesh Bhaiyalal Saroj, 25, a rickshaw driver, and his accomplice, Ankit Kumar Rajendra Kumar Prajapati, 25, a resident of Rajkumar Chawl, Ulhasnagar Camp No. 2. According to officials, the kidnapping occurred on June 8, between 1am and 4am, while the couple was sleeping with their son on the footpath. Dinesh took advantage of the situation, kidnapped Arbaaz, and drove away in his rickshaw. The incident was captured on CCTV footage.

Senior police inspector Shailesh Salvi said, “With the help of technical details, we traced the rickshaw driver, who revealed that the child was at Ankit Kumar’s house. We set a trap near the house, safely rescued the toddler, and arrested both accused. The motive is still under investigation, but initial information suggests the child might have been intended for sale or witchcraft.”