A tip from a police informant on Wednesday morning led the Commercial Street police to the residence of Kareem in Avinahalli in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district.
The police team, which is investigating the case, had the CCTV camera image of the suspect Zabeena. They had circulated the image of the woman among their informants across the State, and had successfully got credible information that she had gone to Shivamogga with the baby.
Kadugodi-resident Fareeda, wife of a meat shop worker Syed Habeeb, had delivered the baby boy on October 1. The baby was kept in intensive care unit. Fareeda had gone to the unit to feed the baby when Zubeena, on the pretext of playing with the baby, picked it up and escaped, hoodwinking the security.
An informant identified her as a resident of Hegde Nagar. When the police went to the residence, they found the house empty.
They got the phone numbers of some relatives, who informed that her elder brother stayed in Shivamogga. When a police team went to Shivamogga, the baby was at home. They sent the baby’s photograph to the family in Bengaluru, who confirmed it to be theirs.
“Later on, it was not difficult for us to trace the house and rescue the baby. Only after Zubeena is caught will we be able to establish the reason behind the crime,” said an investigating officer.
However, they suspect that Zubeena had stolen the baby to sell it. Following media reports, she feared arrest. She handed over the baby to her brother Kareem in Shivamogga and had informed him that she was returning to Bengaluru, the police said.
Zubeena and Kareem are on the run. Police are searching for them.
“Though the infant was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital before it was stolen, the health condition of the baby appears to be fine. We will also be doing a DNA matching for confirmation later,” said DCP (East) Satheesh Kumar.
