Two couples arrested for abducting toddler in south Delhi

Two couples have been arrested for reportedly abducting a toddler in south Delhi's Tigri area, police said on Tuesday.

The accused have been identified as Sanjay (36), Rekha (32), both residents of Meerut, and Qumar (40) and Mukesh (28), both residents of Bulandshahar, they said.

On March 6, a woman lodged a complaint where she alleged that around 4 pm that day, she went to bring food from a nearby shop and both her kids were alone at home. When she returned, one of her children was missing from the house, a senior police officer said.

The complainant also said that her neighbour, Pinki, and the latter's son-in-law had offered the woman Rs 1.5 lakh about 15 days ago for giving them one of her children, but she refused, they said.

During investigation, police analysed nearby CCTV footage and saw that two persons came on a motorcycle and picked up the child. They later entered a car with the child. The owner of the car was identified as Ranvir Singh, police said.

Singh is the son-in-law of Pinki who was named in the FIR, they said.

"The child was rescued from the custody of Sanjay and his wife Rekha in Meerut and the couple was arrested," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Atul Kumar Thakur said.

They disclosed that the child was handed over to them by Alam and his wife Mukesh and asked them to keep the toddler with them for four to five days for which they would be paid Rs 20,000, the DCP said.

Alam and Mukesh were arrested, police said, adding raids are being conducted to arrest the remaining accused.