Chandni Chowk toddler rescued after five-day hunt

Delhi Police said a one-and-a-half-year-old boy kidnapped from Chandni Chowk on April 19 was rescued alive after a five-day manhunt. (rediff.com) (millenniumpost.in) Police said the child’s mother reported the abduction at about 7 pm on April 19, and North district teams opened a case and began reviewing Chandni Chowk camera footage. (hindustantimes.com) (rediff.com) Deputy Commissioner of Police Raja Banthia said investigators tracked a man and a woman who had been moving through the market since morning and trying to approach other children before the kidnapping. (hindustantimes.com) (millenniumpost.in) The CCTV trail led police to Khajuri Khas in northeast Delhi. Officers said they arrested Mohammad Firoz, 32, a Siliguri native who works as an e-rickshaw driver, on April 24. (rediff.com) (millenniumpost.in) The boy was recovered from a rented room in Khajuri Khas, police said. They said Firoz told investigators he had recently met a woman named Kali near Hanuman Mandir in Kashmere Gate. (rediff.com) (devdiscourse.com) Police said Kali promised Firoz easy money and pushed him to help kidnap children. Investigators are still looking for her and examining whether the case is tied to a larger child-trafficking network. (rediff.com) (devdiscourse.com) Millennium Post reported that investigators believe the toddler was lured with food and was to be sold for ₹20,000. Tribune India reported Firoz has previously faced nine criminal cases, including theft and Arms Act allegations. (millenniumpost.in) (tribuneindia.com) The rescue closed a case that began in one of Delhi’s busiest wholesale districts and ended with the child back in police protection while the search for the second suspect continues. (hindustantimes.com) (rediff.com)