Seven-month-old child stolen from Chhattisgarh rescued in Madhya Pradesh; three held

By PTI

BILASPUR/ UMARIA: A seven-month-old boy allegedly stolen from the Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) in Bilaspur district was rescued from a train in Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh and three persons, including two women, were arrested, Chhattisgarh Police said on Sunday.

An officer said that the main accused, Rita Yadav, had kidnapped the baby boy from the CIMS and was travelling to Delhi to meet her boyfriend. “Bilaspur Police safely rescued the child by arresting Rita Yadav, a resident of Bilaspur district, from the Umariya railway station in Madhya Pradesh with the help of the Railway Protection Force (RPF),” Addl SP Nimesh Baraiya told reporters.

The two other arrested persons are identified as Yadav’s boyfriend Pushpendra and one Hema Kaushik, he said. The rescued baby was handed over to his parents Ishak Be and Shafar Shah, he said.

Baraiya said that Yadav, already married, was in a relationship with Pushpendra and one Sahil, a resident of Mumbai. “She had lied to Sahil that she was expecting a child from him, following which the latter asked her to come to Delhi. Yadav then started a search for a child (to convince Sahil) and met the victim couple. On the pretext of offering monetary help and arranging treatment facilities, Yadav with the help of Pushpendra took Ishak Be and her child to the CIMS and eventually escaped with the baby. In the wake of the incident, a complaint was lodged with the Bilaspur Police and a search was launched,” Baraiya said.

He said Yadav left for Delhi on August 21 with the baby. “Meanwhile, with the help of CCTV footage of CIMS and other evidence, police held Pushpendra and Hema. Based on the inputs given by the duo, a police team with the help of RPF arrested Yadav from a train in Madhya Pradesh’s Umariya district and ensured safe rescue of the baby,” the Addl SP said.

Further probe is underway, he added. A Madhya Pradesh police official had said when the Umaria RPF apprehended the woman (Yadav) and enquired, she could not give a satisfactory reply and was taken off the train along with the child.