The police on Thursday rescued a one-and-a-half-year-old girl within 12 hours of her abduction from Thane railway station and booked two people, including a minor.
According to the Kopri police, Puja used to stay with her mother Radha Mulekar on platform no. 10 of the station. Ms. Mulekar works as a conservancy worker for a living.
Around 4 a.m. on Thursday, when she woke up, she found that Puja, who had gone to sleep next to her, was missing. She raised an alarm and the Kopri police were informed, after which an FIR of kidnapping was registered against unknown persons.
“We checked the closed circuit television camera footage of the spot where they had been sleeping and saw a young boy in his teens picking her up and walking away. We obtained several stills of the footage which had captured the boy and our teams started inquiries to identify him,” senior police inspector Jitendra Agarkar, Kopri police station, said.
Mr. Agarkar said over the next several hours, the police teams made inquiries with around 100 people, including vendors and residents of nearby areas, who frequently visit the station. Some of these people recognised the boy, who makes a living by selling odds and ends aboard local trains, and provided the boy's address, who stays close to the station.
The boy was picked up for inquiries and during questioning, he allegedly confessed to having kidnapped Puja. He also revealed that he had left Puja at the Vartak Nagar residence of one of his acquaintances, identified as Shaista Sheikh (30). Puja was rescued from Ms. Sheikh’s residence and she was arrested.
The minor accused was booked and produced before a Juvenile Justice Court. He was sent to the juvenile remand home in Dongri.
“We are still investigating to ascertain the exact motive behind the kidnapping,” Mr. Agarkar said.