WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: A marathon search for the abducted infant bore fruit as Goa Police traced the suspected woman kidnapper at her residence in Saleli-Valpoi on Saturday evening. The baby was found safe with no visible injuries on him.
The woman, Vishranti Gawas, however, refused to hand over the child to the police claiming she was the biological mother.
The entire team of North Goa Police and Crime Branch were on a look out for the suspect based on leads shared by two
motorcycle pilots and a scooterist, who had offered her a lift till a waddo in Bicholim. CCTV footage around Mapusa Gandhi Circle also proved helpful in the search operation that lasted over 24 hours.
On Friday, the month-old infant was abducted from the custody of his mother while she was at the coffee shop in the premises of the Goa Medical College and Hospital. Multiple police teams were formed to trace the suspect.
Having failed to get a breakthrough, Goa Police on Saturday morning released video footage and a photograph of the suspect carrying the baby wrapped in a white piece of cloth in her arms.
The kidnapper initially walked out of the hospital with the baby, hired a motorcycle to reach Panjim bus stand and another pilot to drop her to Porvorim. She later boarded a bus to Mapusa. In the video footage sourced from a CCTV camera, she was seen seated on a scooter driven by a man in Mapusa.
Sources told Herald that police began tracing the whereabouts of the scooterist. His identification was confirmed on details obtained from a forest check-post in Bicholim. “The check post provided the two-wheeler’s registration number. His residential details were soon obtained from the RTO, after which a team of 60-70 police personnel reached his house. The man, a resident of Bicholim and a government employee, told the police he had offered the woman a lift as she was struggling with a baby in her arms amidst heavy rains. Further leads were obtained and the search continued,” said a source who was a part of the search team.
It is also learnt that a bus passenger phoned the police informing that a woman, similar to the one seen in the video footage, had inquired about going towards Valpoi. The team launched a combing operation in the forest areas of Bicholim and Valpoi, to finally zero in on the kidnapper. The woman has been arrested but has not admitted to the kidnapping.
The complainant and the kidnapper will now be subjected to a medical test to ascertain the biological mother of the infant. Until then, arrangements have been made to ensure the safety of the infant.
