Delhi Police have arrested a 25-year-old woman, who had kidnapped a two-month-old boy for human sacrifice to 'revive' her dead father, an official said on Saturday.
The accused has been identified as Shweta, a resident of Kotla Mubarakpur.
According to Esha Pandey, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast), at about 4 p.m. on Thursday, information was received at the Amar Colony police station that an infant has been kidnapped by an unknown woman.
"During investigation, it was found that the family members of the infant had met a woman at Safdarjung Hospital who introduced herself as a member of an NGO working for child care.
"She promised to provide free medicine and consultation for the mother and the child. She also visited their house on the pretext of examining the infant," the officer said.
On Thursday, the woman came to their house for the second time and asked the child's mother if she could take the baby out for a while. The infant's mother asked her 21-year-old niece, Ritu, to accompany the woman.
"The woman then took the baby and Ritu in her car for a ride. After a while, the woman offered a cold drink to Ritu, after drinking which she fell unconscious. The woman then dumped Ritu in Ghaziabad, who after gaining consciousness informed her family that the child has been kidnapped. Subsequently, a PCR call was made," the officer said.
After scanning CCTV footages, the vehicle of the kidnapper was traced and her address and other details were obtained, Pandey said.
The police then conducted a raid at the said location, but couldn't find the woman there.
"Specific inputs were received that she would come near the Arya Samaj Mandir in Kotla Mubarakpur following which a police team raided the location and apprehended Shweta. The infant was recovered safely," said the DCP.
On interrogation, Shweta disclosed that her father had died last month. While performing his last rites, she came to know that human sacrifice of an infant of the same gender could revive her father and bring him back to life, the officer said.
"To execute this superstition, she started searching for an infant boy in the area. For this, she went to the maternity ward of Safdarjung Hospital and introduced herself as the member of an NGO working for child care," the DCP said. (SJ/IANS)
