Agripada cops received the complaint from minor Kusum Shaikh's parents on December 16. While conducting the inquiry into the case, they found CCTV footage which shows someone taking Kusum away
Kusum with mother Shannu Shaikh
Close to a week after the Agripada police received a missing person's complaint about a three-year-old being picked up from a footpath in Byculla, they nabbed her kidnapper and the person she sold the minor to from Pune and Hyderabad respectively. The arrested accused have been identified as Pune resident Sakina Umar, 29, the kidnapper and Fatima Begum Ali Bin Umar, 39, who bought the minor in Hyderabad.
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According to the cops, they received the complaint from minor Kusum Shaikh's parents on December 16. While conducting the inquiry into the case, they found CCTV footage which shows someone taking Kusum away. Soon after, they filed a kidnapping case.
Kusum was seen in CCTV footage on Byculla station
Fail trip to Pune
It was initially tough to get hold of the accused. While checking CCTV footage of the street Kusum was picked up from, they found the minor being taken away by another young girl, and a woman with a trolley bag on Byculla railway station. Around 3:28 pm, the trio headed towards a train.
From Byculla railway station, they boarded a local train to Kalyan railway station, where they boarded the Kanyakumari express till Pune. Cops then dispatched a team to Pune, but they returned without any clue. The disappointed team had to start from scratch again. They checked footage carefully and noticed some food in Sakina's hand. They inquired with some shopkeepers at Byculla station. One of them identified her. They also found that she'd called someone from an STD booth near Hindustand Masjid at NM Joshi Road.
Number in Hyderabad
Cops checked the STD booth and found she'd called a number in Hyderabad. They tracked the number, dispatched a team to Hyderabad and rescued the minor from Fatima on December 19. She gave Sakina's contact details. Cops tracked her phone number, located in Pune, for three days. Another team under PSI Amit Babar and Arjun Kudle visited Pune and found the phone belonged to Sakina's husband, who'd lost it after getting drunk.
Cops finally caught hold of Sakina on December 22. While questioning the accused, they found out that the women had worked out a deal that could help them both. Fatima, who has four sons, had promised to give Sakina - who struggles to run her home because of her husband's drinking habit - groceries and utensils, in exchange for a girl child. So, Sakina picked up Kusum from a footpath so she could take her to Fatima. The police have now sent Sakina's two children to the Child Welfare Committee. Meanwhile, Kusum's mother Shannu told mid-day, "I'm very happy with the police for finding my daughter."
Also read: Buisnessman's sons abducted, one killed another seriously wounded
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