A two-month-old baby was stolen from Girgaum and later sold for Rs 12,000 to a brothel keeper in Kamathipura. Police managed to recover the baby and arrest the culprits on Sunday. Officials believe the gang used to steal infants regularly and traffic them in the red-light area. They are now investigating the matter to find more details into the present case and similar ones from the past.


Back where she belongs: Salma Shaikh with her two-month-old
daughter Sushma, who was stolen and then sold off at Kamathipura.
Pic/Milind Karekar

Salma Shaikh's two-month-old daughter Sushma had gone missing on January 5 from her house at Maulana Shaukat Ali Road, Girgaum. Salma has two more daughters.

Initially, she thought her husband, who does not stay with her, might have taken the baby and did not lodge a complaint. But when Salma met her husband Shivaji Haivatkar on January 14 and learnt that he knew nothing about the girl's whereabouts, she approached VP Road police in Girgaum and lodged a case with them.

In quest
"Salma filed a complaint with us after which we started a search for two-month-old Sushma. On a tip-off we learnt that the infant had been sold for Rs 12,000 in Kamathipura," said an officer from VP Road police station.

Police discovered that one Amar Sharma (28), a resident of Nagpada had stolen Sushma while she was lying on a bed outside her house. Amar had sold the baby to one Abdulla alias Atiulla Shafi Ulla Shaikh (40), a resident of Shivadi, who later sold Sushma at Kamathipura.u00a0

"We have arrested the duo and are investigating whether they have stolen more babies from the area," said the officer. Salma works as a maid and had met her husband in 2007. After being rescued, Sushma was returned to her mother.