Five held for kidnapping and selling toddler in Maharashtra

THANE: Police have arrested five persons, including three women, in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly kidnapping a two-and-a-half-year-old boy and selling him to a childless couple for Rs 70,000, an official said on Saturday.

The toddler was rescued and reunited with his parents recently and the accused were arrested on Friday, he said.

"The boy was kidnapped on September 15 from near his house located close to the circus ground area in Ambarnath township when he was playing. His parents carried out a search in the area, but failed to find him. They later approached the police," senior inspector Sanjay Dhumal said.

"The police pasted the pictures of the missing child on autorickshaws in Ambarnath town. Soon, police got a tip-off from a rickshaw driver that the child was spotted in Bharat Nagar locality of Ulhasnagar township in the district," he added.

A couple handed over the minor to the police, who confirmed that it was the same child.

He was then reunited with his parents on September 19, Dhumal said.

"During the interrogation, the couple told the police that the child had been sold to them for Rs 70,000 by a woman named Jainatbi Fakir Mohammad Khan, after he was kidnapped on September 15," he added.

During Jainatbi's questioning, she named other four accused.

They were dentified as Pooja Mahesh Chettiar, (28), Sheru Sukhram Saroj (45), Mukesh Anil Kharva (36) and Maya Sukhdev Kale (30), police said.