Delhi: 72-yr-old held for abducting toddler near Jama Masjid

A two-and-a-half-year-old girl, kidnapped near the Jama Masjid on Monday, was rescued from a park and a 72-year-old woman was arrested

A two-and-a-half-year-old girl, who was kidnapped near the Jama Masjid in central Delhi on Monday, was rescued from a park and a 72-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly abducting her. The accused told the police that she felt lonely and wanted a baby.

The accused was arrested on Tuesday. (File photo)

The toddler’s parents were present in their roadside stall near the Jama Masjid and the toddler was playing near the monument when the accused allegedly picked her up around 4-5pm on Monday. The parents noticed the child missing around 6pm and started looking for her. Police said the parents called the police at around 10-11pm.

A team led by assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Kamal Sharma started a late night search near the Jama Masjid but could not find her. “We started looking for CCTVs. More than a hundred CCTVs in the market were searched and we finally found footage of an old woman taking the child. The old woman was also seen interacting with other kids, trying to lure them. The old woman and the victim were seen buying clothes, eating ice cream and roaming around before the woman went towards the metro station,” said an investigator associated with the case.

On Tuesday morning, police got the CCTV footage which revealed that the toddler was taken from Jama Masjid metro station to Uttam Nagar metro station, said deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (central) Nidhin Valsan.

“A team was sent there but they could not find anything as the woman did not hail an auto or e-rickshaw and nobody could recognise her,” said the investigator. Around 1-2pm, the police found footage from a nearby park and received a tip that an old woman was seen with a crying baby. “A police team found the woman with the toddler around 3-4pm. They were at a shop where the woman was trying to buy her chocolates,” said another investigator.

The accused, Haseena (goes by first name), a resident of Uttam Nagar was arrested. “The baby was crying and wanted to go back to her family while Haseena was trying to console her. At first, she tried to mislead us and said that the toddler was her granddaughter. However, we found that the she lived alone and her son did not have a daughter. We then called the parents of the toddler who confirmed it was their child. Haseena then told us she felt lonely and wanted a child so she went to Jama Masjid and Urdu Park where she found the girl sitting alone and took her,” said police.