Ambernath: The city police rescued a 25-day-old baby within four hours of the alleged kidnapping and arrested five people in connection with the case. Police suspect the infant was to be sold to a woman in Gujarat, and further investigation is underway to uncover the suspected network.

According to police, the incident occurred around 7 pm on October 10, when Santosh Ashok Waghe was standing near the Ganpati temple in Swaminagar with his infant. A woman identified as Parvathi Nagraj allegedly snatched the baby from his hands.

After a complaint was lodged on October 11, police launched an investigation using technical analysis of mobile phone numbers and interrogation of suspects. The probe reportedly revealed that the infant had been passed between several individuals.

Following the trail from Mumbai’s Dharavi area towards Ulhasnagar by local train, police traced and safely recovered the baby within four hours of initiating the operation. The infant was reunited with the family, bringing relief to the parents.

The five arrested accused have been identified as Parvathi Nagraj (38), Sony Ganesh (19), Shaktivel Parameshwam (37), Nisha Shaktivel (30) and Ruksar Faroukh Shaikh (32). One of the accused is a woman with speech and hearing disabilities.

Police are investigating the suspected plan to sell the infant to a woman in Gujarat and are attempting to identify the alleged mastermind and establish whether others were involved.