The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Etawah arrested a man for allegedly stealing a 10-month-old infant from the Nandankanan Express on the Delhi-Howrah rail route and selling the child for Rs 3.5 lakh. The police also apprehended the couple who purchased the child and successfully recovered the infant after six days.
The infant, daughter of Munni Ansari, was travelling from Aligarh to Koderma in Jharkhand. A young man on board offered her a drugged laddu, which caused her to lose consciousness. When she regained consciousness, she discovered that her child was missing.
SP GRP Agra Anil Kumar Jha stated that the Mirzapur GRP received a complaint around 1 am on the night of January 14-15, leading to a zero FIR. Investigations revealed that the intoxicating substance was administered near Etawah railway station. A case was registered at Etawah GRP on January 16.
A joint team of Etawah and Aligarh police examined CCTV footage from all stoppages of the Nandankanan Express. A 16-second video helped identify the accused. It showed a young man boarding the train with Munni from Aligarh, alighting at Fatehpur station with the child, and leaving for Kanpur by bus.
Further investigation revealed that the accused had purchased a train ticket to Gaya from Aligarh via UPI payment. Using ticket and mobile records, police traced and arrested Sonu, a resident of Bulandshahr.
During interrogation, Sonu confessed to selling the infant to Ashok and Poonam of Dadri, Noida, for Rs 3.5 lakh. The couple told police that they already had a daughter and wanted a son, and approached Sonu after unsuccessful adoption attempts. The baby was recovered safely from their residence.
Cases were registered against all three under relevant sections of the law, and they were sent to jail. SP GRP Agra Anil Kumar Jha announced a Rs 25,000 reward for the police team involved in the operation.
