NEW DELHI: The city witnessed yet another case of extreme superstition when a 25-year-old woman allegedly kidnapped a 2-month-old baby to offer him as human sacrifice in a bid to revive her dead father.
The infant was safely rescued by the Delhi Police, and the alleged kidnapper, identified as Shweta, a resident of Kotla Mubarakpur, has been arrested.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Esha Pandey, the police received information at around 4 pm on November 10 that an infant has been kidnapped by an unknown woman from the Garhi area. The police registered a case under sections 328 and 363 of the IPC. The complainant informed the police that the accused met them at Safdarjung Hospital and introduced herself as a member of an NGO working in the field of maternal and neonatal care.
“She had promised to provide free medicines and consultation to the mother and the newborn. Later, she even followed up with them about examining the baby’s development,” Pandey said.
On November 9, Shweta came to the complainant’s house at Mamraj Mohalla, Garhi, for the infant’s check-up, and the next day, she again paid a visit and convinced the child’s mother to hand over the infant to her for an outing. The mother asked her 21-year-old niece named Ritu to accompany Shweta.
“On the way, Shweta offered a cold drink to Ritu, due to which she fell unconscious. Later, she dumped Ritu in Ghaziabad. After gaining consciousness, Ritu informed her family that the child had been kidnapped,” Pandey said.
The police scanned CCTV footage in which the registration number of Shweta’s vehicle was traced. A raid was conducted at her address but she was found absconding.
Acting on a tip-off, the police then conducted a raid near Arya Samaj Mandir, Kotla Mubarakpur and apprehended Shweta, safely recovering the infant.
On sustained interrogation, Shweta disclosed that her father died last month and during his funeral rites, she 'found' that the human sacrifice of an infant of the same gender may help bring her father back to life. She then started searching for an infant boy in the area.