In the wee hours of August 24, a seven-month-old child was stolen from next to his mother at Mathura railway station. Thanks to efficient Mathura police and alert citizens who circulated the footage enough to help the cops finally recover the child, the infant was found on Monday at a BJP corporator's house in Firozabad. The incident has also helped the police bust a racket that steals or kidnaps and then sells children.

Mathura Police held a press conference after nabbing the kidnapper, who was caught on CCTV cameras and has been identified as Deepak, and eight other members of his gang. The police also showed visuals of Rs 500 notes which were recovered from the arrested doctors.

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The gang busted by UP PoliceImage@upcopsachin

As per the details furnished by the police, BJP's Vinita Agarwal and her husband Murari bought the seven-month-old boy for Rs 1.8 lakh from two doctors. The couple already has a 12-year-old daughter but no son.

Reportedly, the two claim to have no knowledge of the child being stolen. After busting the racket, the police took the entire family to Mathura for further questioning.

In a statement, senior police officer Mohammed Mushtaq said the kidnapping was carried out and executed by a gang which was already involved in trafficking children for money.

"We found that a man named Deepak Kumar took the child. He is a part of a gang that includes two doctors who run a hospital in the neighbouring Hathras district. There is involvement of some other health workers too. We interrogated the people in whose home the child was found, and they told us they had only one daughter, so wanted a son. That's why they made the deal," NDTV quoted senior officer Mushtaq as saying.

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The CCTV footage, which went viral a few days ago, shows the kidnapper abruptly walking towards the mother, who was fast asleep on the station platform and immediately walking away with the infant in his hands.

In 2020, as per the figures by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 59,262 children went missing in India. The number of children traced is often a measly figure in comparison to those who go missing each year.

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