The accused had introduced himself as an NGO worker to the girl’s mother. Police say she was told in Haridwar that sacrificing a child of the same sex could bring her father back
The accused had introduced himself as an NGO worker in front of the child’s mother; Police say she was told in Haridwar that sacrificing a same-sex baby could bring her father back
A 25-year-old woman has been arrested in south-east Delhi for allegedly abducting a two-month-old baby to sacrifice her to bring her dead father back to life, police said on Saturday. The child has been rescued.
The accused, identified as Shweta, a resident of Kotla Mubarakpur, has been arrested, police said, adding that she lives with her mother. The accused has been involved in robbery and dacoity cases in the past.
At four o’clock in the evening at the Amar Colony police station, the police received a call that an unknown woman had abducted a two-month-old child from Garhi area. Investigation has been started by registering an FIR.
‘NGO Worker’
The 35-year-old mother of the child said that the kidnapper met her at Safdarjung Hospital and identified herself as associated with an NGO, Jaccha Bachha Care. “The woman had promised that she would provide free medicines and counseling for both us – my child and herself,” the mother said.
“The woman had met me on November 1. She told me that she can get me the medicines free of cost. When I refused, she kept following me,” said the mother.
took the child out for a walk
“He also followed me on the pretext of checking my child’s development. on Wednesday [November 9], she came to our house in Mamraj Mohalla of Garhi for check-up. Even on Thursday, she came to my house and prompted me to hand over the baby for twirls,” said the mother.
According to the mother, Shweta took her Aadhaar card details and phone number. “She told us that her name was Asha and she had been working with the NGO for some time. She didn’t look suspicious. No one could understand that she was deceiving us,” said the mother.
“On Thursday, the mother asked her 21-year-old niece to accompany Shweta when she took the infant out. The accused took the girl and Ritu in their car.
An official said that the kidnapper then dropped Ritu in Ghaziabad. When he regained consciousness, he told his family that the child had been kidnapped.
Police said that after analyzing the CCTV footage, the vehicle registration number of the kidnapper was traced and his address details emerged.
She was arrested on Friday following a tip off that Shweta was visiting an Arya Samaj temple in Kotla Mubarakpur.
During interrogation, Shweta revealed that her father had died in October. An official said that during his last rites in Haridwar, Shweta was told that sacrificing a child of the same sex could cost her father’s life. “To execute this, he looked for newborn boys in the area. She went to the hospital and introduced herself as an NGO worker,” said the officer.
was leaving for Haridwar
The officer said that Shweta was going to take the child to Haridwar in the next few days to perform black magic and some other yagya.
Shweta has studied till class XI and is currently unemployed. His brother was declared as a bad character because of his criminal record.
The baby’s family moved from Bihar to Delhi in 2021. The family lives in a rented house and is going through a financial crisis. The girl’s father works in a textile firm and the mother works as a cook. Both the parents manage their household with a combined income of ₹19,000.