By IANS,
New Delhi: A 26-year-old woman, who was unable to conceive and was allegedly harassed by her in-laws for it, was arrested along with her male accomplice for kidnapping six male children belonging to poor families in the capital, police said Monday.
Ritu Kapoor, a college dropout, and her associate Mohammad Zia Ul, 30, were arrested Sunday. One of the boys who were abducted by them has been rescued, while the body of another was found a few days ago, police said.
Kapoor, a native of Assam, used to befriend the mother of the children by giving them artificial jewellery as well as taking interest in the welfare of the child by suggesting vaccination, and proper medical treatment, police said.
And when she would get the opportunity, she would kidnap the child with the help of Zia Ul, a rickshaw puller.
The accused would abandon the boys if they did not keep good health. She would then look for another healthy child, police added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (west Delhi) Sharad Aggarwal said Kapoor targeted people belonging to the lower income bracket as it was easy for her to befriend them. She was under the impression that the parents of the abducted children would not pursue the case and police will also not take their case seriously.
The police said Kapoor shifted to Delhi around 15 years ago. After her mother’s death eight years ago, her father abandoned her. She started selling artificial jewellery and inner garments in Rajouri Garden area. She married Shammi Kapoor four years ago.
After her marriage, she was unable to conceive and underwent medical treatment. Her husband and in-laws passed comments against her for her inability to conceive.
“To overcome this social stigma, she planned to kidnap an infant,” Aggarwal said.
“She took help of Zia Ul who used to take her younger sister to school. They first kidnapped a three-year-old boy from Pandav Nagar area in east Delhi. She kept this child with her and named him Puneet,” he added.
Police said they have recovered the boy from her custody.
During her interrogation, she confessed to kidnapping more male children.
“Kapoor said after her first kidnapping, her husband insisted on a second child. She again took Mohd Zia Ul into confidence and planned the kidnapping of another child. They lifted one-month-old boy from a slum in Hari Nagar. But she abandoned the boy as he was not keeping well,” Aggarwal said.
The police said they again abducted a two-month-old boy from a slum in Uttam Nagar. Since the child was also not keeping well, they abandoned him too. After that they again kidnapped a 19-day-old boy from Rajouri Garden area but abandoned him as he, too, was not keeping well.
Next they targeted a two-month-old boy from the slums in Hari Nagar area. A few days ago, police recovered the child’s body near a footpath in the same area. A post mortem examination was being carried out, police said.
Aggarwal said Kapoor further revealed that she has kidnapped another three-month-old child from a park opposite the Brotherhood Apartments in Vikas Puri.
“We are trying to recover the child,” he said.