Protest against police failure to trace stolen child

GHAZIABAD - Residents of Ghaziabad’s Vijaynagar area Tuesday held a sit-in to protest the deteriorating law and order situation and the worsening power supply scenario after police failed to trace a one-month-old baby who was stolen from his mother’s side while sleeping outside their house during a power cut.

According to police, when the light went off in Vijaynagar area around Sunday midnight, Poonam, 28, came out of her house and and went off to sleep in the lane along with her child. In the morning, when she woke up, the child was missing.

Her husband, who works at a private printing press in Delhi, reported the matter to police. However, he alleged police were indifferent to their plight.

“Police neither showed any interest at the time of reporting the case nor afterward. Even after more than 40 hours, they are unable to reply satisfactorily to us about the whereabouts of the child,” the infant’s father, Brij Mohan claimed.

Jitendra Sharma, a local social activist and Communist Party of India leader, claimed that at least 90 children had gone missing from the area in the last one year but police had taken no action.

“On Feb 28, one-year-old Chhotu was snatched by the criminals from his father Mohd Mashroom Ali in the same area. One-and-a-half-year-old child Bunty was snatched from his father’s side April 6,” he said.