The family of Yahil here had a delayed Eid celebration, but they did not have any complaints as the police traced the two-and-a-half-year-old boy and reunited him with them after almost 23 days.
Police have arrested four persons, including three women, for allegedly kidnapping the boy from central Delhi's Daryaganj and then hatching a plan to sell him to a childless couple.
On the evening of June 5, Yahil went to Jama Masjid along with his family and relatives for Iftar. While they were offering namaz, the boy went missing and could not be traced.
An FIR was registered at Jama Masjid police station, police said, adding it was a blind case since nobody had seen the child going anywhere from the place of incident.
The photographs of the child were circulated through WhatsApp and messages about his disappearance were aired on local cable television networks, said Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central).
A woman contacted the police and told them that the boy has been kept somewhere in Gurgaon and he is being sold for Rs 2.5 lakh.
The woman told the police that a childless couple, who is known to her, were looking to adopt a child. She had met a woman named Saroj who told her that she can help in adoption.
She contacted Saroj on behalf of the couple. Saroj sent the photo of the kidnapped boy to the woman and informed her that he has been kept in Gurgaon, said the officer.
When she saw the pictures of the boy on TV, she got suspicious and questioned Saroj, who assured her that the child had not been kidnapped.
The woman also told her that the parents of the child wanted to get a DNA profiling of the child before adoption.
However, the woman got in touch with the police who managed to nab Saroj from Raghubir Nagar area on June 28. Saroj disclosed that she had paid Rs 1.10 lakh to one Sonia.
She knew that the police were on her trail and had gotten scared. Saroj informed Sonia and they abandoned the child in west Delhi's Madipur. They even informed the police about an unidentified boy roaming in the area.
The local police rescued the child and sent him to a Child Welfare Committee and he was subsequently handed over to his parents.
Other accused Sonia, Radha and Jaan Mohammed were nabbed yesterday.
Jaan Mohammed, who works as a labourer, had met with one Yusuf, and they became friends.
Yusuf posed as the parent of the child and told Jaan Mohd that he was in need of money and offered to sell his child at a handsome amount.
Jaan Mohammed further contacted one Radha and handed over the child to her for selling. Radha sold the child to Sonia for Rs one lakh. Sonia further sold the child to Saroj for Rs 1.10 lakh.
Saroj was searching for a prospective buyer and was demanding Rs 1.80 lakh for the child.
It was also revealed that Saroj, Radha and Sonia used to visit fertility clinics and IVF centres in the capital for childless couples, the police officer said.
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