BENGALURU: VV Puram police on Thursday nabbed a gang for allegedly kidnapping a newborn baby girl and selling her to a couple for Rs 80,000. According to police, the woman posed as a relative of the baby and managed to take her away from Vani Vilas Hospital on November 11. Based on CCTV footage, the accused could be identified, while the couple who had paid money were also arrested.
The accused have been identified as Ayesha (23), a resident of Yelachenahalli, her accomplices Manjunath (32) and Vaseem, (30), from Kanakanagar, and the couple Abdul Rehaman (32) and Sania (28), from Kumarswamy Layout.
A police officer said the baby, which was born on November 9, had developed health issues. Hence, she was kept in the ICU for treatment. Ayesha, who was at the hospital visiting her sister who had also delivered a baby, plotted to kidnap a child and sell it. She entered the ICU posing as a relative and asked for the baby to be discharge. The staff believed her and handed over the baby.
A few hours later the parents, Abdul Rashid and Arshiya, realised that their daughter had already been discharged. Shocked, they approached VV Puram police, who filed a case of kidnapping against the woman whom they spotted in CCTV footage.
A special team traced her identity and she was nabbed at home. She had sold the baby to the couple in Kumaraswamy Layout. Subsequently, they zeroed in on the other suspects and arrested them. Rehaman, is a mechanic by profession and had no kids since six years ago. They wanted to adopt the child and discussed it with Vaseem, who is also a mechanic. Ayesha claimed she committed the crime owing to financial issues she suffered amid the Covid-induced lockdown.