Toddler’s Socks, 1,600 CCTV Cameras Help Thane Police Crack Mumbra Kidnapping Case

Thane: In an investigation where clues kept failing them, it was eventually a toddler’s socks and a network of nearly 1,600 CCTV cameras that helped the Mumbra Police Of Thane Police Commissionerate to solve the kidnapping case in which three persons were arrested on Thursday.

Women Wearing Burqa Had Kidnapped The Infant Incident occurred while crossing the road

On January 22, 2026, at around 6 pm, the complainant Farzana Mohammad Firoz Mansuri (23), resident of Kausa, Mumbra, was crossing the Khadi Machine Road in front of DCB Bank with her two daughters. During this time, an unknown burqa-clad woman engaged in conversation, took her 3-month-old daughter Afia Khatoon in her lap, and fled the scene.

No Concrete Evidence, Without Giving Up Mumbra Police Team Continued The Search Operation

After the incident, a case of kidnapping was registered at Mumbra Police Station under BNS section 137(2).

First clue from CCTV

Upon scanning the CCTV footage of the crime scene and surrounding areas, the burqa-clad woman was seen going towards Mumbra station by rickshaw. And the police started checking the cameras from Mumbra to CSMT Vangani route railway stations. In the footage, a sock worn on the baby's foot was seen peeping out from the burqa, which provided a link for identification.

“Our teams began scanning the footage again and found another burqa-clad woman. This time, while the toddler was covered under her burqa, a few inches of the toddler’s socks were visible based on which her mother identified the daughter,” Dumbare said. The police team saw she was speaking to another couple at the Mumbra railway station to whom she handed over the kid and left the station. Later, they got down at Thane station, changed the cloth wrapping the baby and the woman changed her veil, in an attempt to mislead the investigation.

During the investigation, a third suspicious burqa-clad woman was seen exiting Mumbra station. Based on informers and local investigation, the police detained her from the Ishannagar area. She was identified as Nasreen Iqlaq Shaikh. During interrogation, she revealed that the baby has been sent to Khetri village in Patur taluka of Akola district. The police team immediately reached Akola and, through a raid, safely rescued the baby Afia. Mohammad Mujib Gulab (31) and his wife Khairunnisa Mujib Mohammad (30) were arrested from the spot.

Investigation with help of 1600 cameras, continuous 18 hours of effort

During the investigation, the police checked 1600 cameras on the Mumbra-CSMT and Mumbra-Diva routes and worked continuously for 18 hours. The case was solved within 6 days on January 28, 2026.

Commendable Work By These Officers

For the commendable work, officers including Joint Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade, Additional Commissioner of Police Ashok Dudhe, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ganesh Gawde, Assistant Commissioner of Police Mumbra Division Parag Agawane, Senior Police Inspector of Mumbra Police Station Anil Shinde, Police Inspector (Crime) Babasaheb Pawar, Assistant Police Inspector Vishal Mane and the police team were appreciated. The police have once again set an example of human service by safely rescuing the baby girl.

Published on: Saturday, January 31, 2026, 10:15 PM IST