CHENNAI: More than a month after a three-month-old girl was stolen from the Koyambedu market and later rescued at Ambattur Industrial estate, police on Thursday arrested six people, including two juveniles, who planned to sell her for ₹25 lakh.
While Babu, an autorickshaw driver, his wife Gayathri, Sengottuvan and Ganesh have been sent to jail, the minors have been admitted to a juvenile home.
Policesaid Sanjana,daughter of Ramesh and Sandhya, was stolen from the Koyambedu market complex on November 9 while she was sleeping with her parents. Soon after the couple lodged a complaint and policemen fanned out to different areas, the child was found abandoned on a pavement at the Ambattur Industrial estate.
A special team headed by Koyambedu inspector Chidambara Murugesan was formed to nab the suspects. Based on CCTV camera footage they narrowed down on a few suspects. The team members had to scan nearly 600 CCTV cameras before it first nabbed Babu. Police then found that Gayathri and the couple’s 17-year-old son were also behind the incident. Babu hatchedthe plan tostealthebaby after learning about a woman who wanted to adopt a baby.
K Abhinaya, who manages a catering unit at a government hospital, approached Sengottuvan, her employer, to help her legally adopt a baby. After the woman, childless for more than eight years, said she was ready to pay up to ₹25lakh, Sengottuvan approached Ganesh, a cook, and said he would pay ₹10lakh.
Ganesh went to Babu, a friendwhoheknewwasin dire need of money. Babu decided to steal the child based on information provided by a juvenile who loiters around the market.
On the day of incident, he sent his son and the other minor to steal the girl. They later informed Abhinaya that they had found a child that she could adopt and wanted to strike a deal. But, when she insisted that they show her the child’s family, their Aadhaar cards andtheir house,Babudeveloped cold feet, a police officer said. He decided to abandon the child on a pavement in the Ambattur industrial estate.
A boy who spotted the child called up the police control room before a team of the Koyambedu police arrived. She was later handed over to her parents.