8-Month-Old Baby Kidnapped at Pune Railway Station, Rescued After 27-Day Police Operation

A shocking case of kidnaping came to light in the premises of Pune railway station which got solved in 27 days. Woman who left Chitrakoot with 8-month-old baby after getting tired with her husband troubles came to Pune in hope of starting a new life with a person, she knowns. She and her future husband met a couple with who they chitchatted; their conversation turns into a pleasant one. Since it is lunch time, she asks her future husband to bring a food parcel. Post lunch mother ask the couple to look after baby until she comes. However, when she came back the couple and her baby was missing. This incident takes place right next to the Lohmarg police station at the railway station.

Mother reported the kidnapping case to Lohmarg police station, which was right next to where the incident took place. From here, the 27-day journey begins. As soon as the woman's complaint is received by the Lohmarg police, Senior Police Inspector Pramod Khopikar instructs the entire police station to recognize the seriousness of the incident, and they began search for the kidnapper through 71 CCTV cameras in the railway station area.  After 2 days, two people of the description given by the woman are seen in a camera.

The male suspect was wearing military-style track pants, a black jacket with a tiger symbol, and slippers. Police observed both suspects taking the baby in a rickshaw near the railway station's ST stand. CCTV footage yielded a blurry rickshaw image, prompting police to contact rickshaw associations. After eight days of checking 60-70 rickshaws, the driver in question came forward on the ninth day, stating he dropped the couple at the Swargate bus stand, and they inquired about buses to Satara. CCTV at Swargate was inoperative.

Police then analyzed dump data and CDR details from 2.7 million mobile numbers, narrowing it down to 7,000. They traced the jacket to a Chakan security company and investigated 6,000 employees, conducting further technical analysis. Frustrated, police re-examined Swargate bus stand CCTV footage and discovered, via a shopkeeper's camera, the suspects took a different rickshaw to Pashan, then Susgaon.

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Unable to provide documentation due to poverty, the baby's mother received assistance from the police, who retrieved birth records from the Chitrakoot hospital and safely returned the child. The case remains open; the female suspect is out on bail. CCTV footage revealed the suspects traveled by train from Lonavala to Ahmedabad, where they were seen disembarking. Further investigation led to their apprehension in an Ahmedabad hut, located using the shortlisted mobile number. Interrogation revealed the suspects had previously attempted to steal the baby from Sassoon Hospital on multiple occasions but were deterred by security.Open in app