Abducted Bhiwandi toddler rescued from UP; two held

Thane: The police on Wednesday reunited a one-year-old boy, who was abducted from Bhiwandi in Thane district of Maharashtra earlier this month and taken to Uttar Pradesh for sale, with his footpath-dweller parents.

The toddler, identified as Kumar Ashique, was abducted from Bhiwandi town on the intervening night of June 2 and June 3 when his parents were asleep, a senior police officer said. After his parents lodged a complaint, police fanned out teams and also activated their local network of informers, he said. The first breakthrough came when police arrested one Rohit Kotekar, a history-sheeter having cases of car thefts against him, on June 10 and later his accomplice Suraj Soni. Kotekar and Soni told police during interrogation that they had abducted the toddler to settle off their debts and have shifted him to Eksavda village in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district bordering Nepal, the officer said, adding that the duo wanted to sale the toddler for quick money.