Chittoor: Another abducted baby rescued; police suspect organised gang behind child lifting

Chittoor: Police have rescued an abducted 6-day-old infant from a Guntur bus stand and handed her over to her parents. Three accused have also been arrested. Two of the abductors are from Visakhapatnam. They are identified as K Pavitra (30), native of Chittoor town, P Padma (42) and P Venkatesh (30), both native of Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam.

Police suspect that there is a link between the kidnapping incidents in Visakhapatnam and Chittoor. A few days ago, a 4-day-old girl was kidnapped from King George Hospital. She was to be sold to a childless couple.

A woman named Shabana from Mangasamudram village, near Chittoor had delivered the baby on March 14. While she was undergoing treatment in the hospital, an unidentified woman stole the infant from the ward and concealed her in a bag. After rescuing the infant, medical tests were conducted at Government General Hospital in Guntur. Later she was handed over to her mother.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) N. Sudhakar Reddy, technical analysis, CCTV footage, and local information helped in solving the case within 24 hours. "Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused was trying to sell the infant to a couple in Visakhapatnam. We could trace the accused through mobile tracking and CCTV surveillance. We found that the couple was traveling in APSRTC bus near Chilakaluripet in Guntur district", Reddy told NewsMeter.

Sources said that the main accused, who kidnapped the infant from the hospital, handed over the baby to Visakhapatnam childless couple. Police are investigating to ascertain if the main accused is a part of a gang involved in the abduction of children in the State.

"While the hospital and city have CCTV surveillance to help in such incidents, it needs to be upgraded. Hospitals lack proper security on the premises," he said.