The accused kidnapped boy when he was playing outside his residence, police said. (Representational)
A three-year-old boy was abducted from Wadala in Central Mumbai allegedly by a woman and her male friend for selling him for Rs 2 lakh to unidentified persons in adjoining Thane district, a police official said on Tuesday.
The boy was later abandoned by the woman and handed over to the police by two men known to her, he said.
The woman, Sanika Waghmare (19), and her male friend Pawan Pokharkar (20), both residents of Wadala who failed in their efforts to sell the boy, have been arrested, said the official.
The incident occurred on Monday afternoon when the boy was playing in a ground outside his residence.
Waghmare abducted the child on instigation of her male friend, who had asked her to kidnap a boy below 10 years of age for selling him for Rs 2 lakh, said the official.
After abducting the boy, Waghmare and Pokharkar hired a cab and went to Kalyan town in Thane district to finalise a deal with persons not identified yet, but returned with the child to Wadala as the agreement did not work out, he said.
Afterwards, she handed over the boy near a bus stop to two men known to her, said the official, adding as instructed by Waghmare, the duo took the child to a police station in Wadala.
Police then called the woman and her male friend and after interrogation, placed them under arrest, he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)