Kidnapped toddler rescued after 8 months in Maharashtra, 2 arrested

A one-year-old boy kidnapped over eight months ago from Thane district in Maharashtra and allegedly sold to a woman was rescued and two persons were arrested in this connection, police said.

The boy was sleeping with his grandmother in the verandah of their home at Mharal village in Kalyan town on June 29, 2018 when he was kidnapped, senior police inspector Balaji Pandhare said. The child's mother, a widow, later lodged a police complaint under Indian Penal Code Section 363 (kidnapping).

Acting on a tip-off, the police kept a tab on the movements of local resident Somnath Pawar (36), who was suspected to have kidnapped and sold the child for Rs 25,000 to his relative Renuka Pawar (40), who has three daughters but desired to have a son, he said.

During the investigation, the police got to know that the boy was taken to Karad in Satara district, located around 300 km from here, he said. A Thane police team went there a few days back and found the boy in the custody of Renuka Pawar, Pandhare said.

The child was rescued and reunited with his mother on Wednesday, he said. The kidnapper and his woman relative were arrested and produced before a local court which remanded them in police custody till March 11, he added.

-PTI