A year-old girl was kidnapped from Mahidharpura area of the city on Saturday last, and was rescued on Monday from Jolva village about 20km from here by the city crime branch police. The police arrested Rita alias Rekha Vasava, 32, and her husband Manish alias Bako for kidnapping the toddler. The couple told the police that they did not have a child, and kidnapped the girl "to raise her." The toddler's family lived on a footpath in Ruwala Tekra of Mahidharpura area, and the Vasava couple too lived nearby. The accused used to play with the toddler often, when the girl's mother went to work. She asked Rita to keep watch on her daughter when she returned, and the girl was missing. She lodged a complaint with the police, and the cops identified the accused from the CCTV footage and traced her to Jolva village.
