Pune:
After a month-long investigation, the Nigdi police have succeeded in arresting two women for the kidnap of a newborn male who had gone missing on February 10 from a roadside shanty near the Nigadi Ota scheme.
Sheetal Tupe and Poonam Waghmare were arrested and booked under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code.
"Earlier it was suspected that the father was involved, but later during the investigation we came to know about the involvement of a neighbour. On questioning her, Tupe admitted to kidnapping the child. She had given the child to her sister Waghmare in Solapur as she could not conceive a baby," Senior Police Inspector Nandkishor Bhosale Patil said. "We have arrested both of them. Tupe was arrested on Tuesday evening and Waghmare was arrested on Wednesday morning from their respective homes."
According to neighbours, the child had been sold to Waghmare for Rs 20,000. But the police denied this, saying the woman was from a modest background and could not pay the amount in question.
The complaint in the case was lodged by the child's mother, Bharti Sachin Kale, a labourer, on February 11. She claimed the incident took place between 11 pm and 2 am on February 10 when she had fallen asleep with the baby and two other children.
The woman had at that time suspected the involvement of her husband, who the police found had a criminal background and had married three other women.