One-month-old baby girl rescued in three days; five held for kidnapping in Hyderabad

A one-month-old baby girl allegedly kidnapped from her mother's lap near Lingampally Railway Station was rescued within three days by the Chandanagar police. Five suspects, including the alleged kidnappers, mediators, and intended buyer, were arrested before the infant could be taken away.

Hyderabad: A one-month-old baby girl, who was allegedly kidnapped from her mother’s lap while she slept on a pavement near Lingampally Railway Station earlier this week, was rescued by the Chandanagar police within three days here on Friday. Five persons, including the alleged kidnappers, mediators, and the intended buyer, were arrested.

The arrested persons are Mohd Zuber and Mohd Irfan, who allegedly carried out the kidnapping, along with Saadequa Maqsood alias Naziya and Nimmi Jahan Ali alias Seema Ali, who allegedly acted as mediators. The fifth suspect, Rahanuma Ali of Kolkata, is alleged to have agreed to purchase the infant.

---

According to the police, the incident occurred in the early hours on June 30, when the infant’s mother, a young circus worker from Karnataka, was sleeping with members of her troupe beside the railway station. “Around 2 am, two men allegedly arrived in an auto-rickshaw, snatched the baby from her lap and fled. Despite the mother’s attempt to chase them after waking up to the child’s cries, the accused escaped,” said Cyberabad Police Commissioner M Ramesh.

The Chandanagar police formed special teams to investigate the case and examined CCTV footage from several locations across Cyberabad, Hyderabad, and neighbouring areas before tracing the suspects.

Police said Rahanuma Ali, who was unable to have children, had approached her relative Seema to arrange for a baby in exchange for money. “Seema allegedly contacted Naziya, who then involved her fiancé Zuber. In turn, Zuber and Irfan allegedly conspired to kidnap a newborn and identified the infant near Lingampally Railway Station as their target,” the Commissioner said.

After abducting the child, the suspects allegedly kept the baby at a house in Hyderabad and informed the buyer. Rahanuma Ali flew from Kolkata to Hyderabad on July 1 to take custody of the infant and allegedly transferred Rs 1.5 lakh online to Zuber as payment.

Before the baby could be taken out of Hyderabad, the police arrested all five suspects, rescued the infant, and reunited her with her mother.