Mumbai: The Mumbai Police swiftly resolved the kidnapping case of a three-year-old girl from the Worli area within just three hours by doing combing operation. During the combing operation, a 40-year-old woman, Dipali Bablu Das, was arrested in connection with the case. According to the police, the accused hails from Bengal and works as an ayah (caretaker) at a hospital in Mumbai.

Worli Police Station's Senior Inspector Ravindra Katkar stated that during the initial interrogation, the accused woman claimed she kidnapped the girl to fill the void of missing her granddaughter. However, the police are also investigating the possibility of a child trafficking angle to determine if the woman had any intention of selling the child.

According to Worli Police, the incident occurred at 12:30 PM on January 29, when the child was playing outside her home with friends. The accused woman approached the girl, lured her with chocolates, and took her towards Premnagar. A neighbor informed the child’s mother about the incident. After searching for her daughter for a long time and failing to locate her, the mother reported the case to Worli Police.

The Police stated that police teams analyzed several CCTV footage from the area. A crucial lead was found in a camera near Ganga Ram Laundry in Premnagar, where the accused woman was seen roaming with the child. Once the suspect was identified, police shared the CCTV footage across WhatsApp groups, including local mohalla committees and residents’ groups. A search operation was launched in Premnagar, and the accused woman along with the child was found in Room No. 520 on BJ Khair Marg.

During questioning, the accused revealed that her daughter and granddaughter live in Bengal, while she resides in Mumbai for work. She claimed that since she could not meet her granddaughter for months, she took the girl home to fill that emotional gap. She further stated that she found the child playing alone and took her home to bathe her as her clothes were dirty. She claimed that she was about to search for the child's parents when the police arrived.

However, police are not ruling out other possibilities and are thoroughly investigating her background. The accused woman’s call data records (CDR) are being examined to check if she has any links to a child trafficking network. The case remains under further investigation as police work to confirm the motive behind the kidnapping.