A 35-year-old woman has been nabbed by Panvel City Police within 24 hours after she abducted a three-month-old baby from outside Panvel Railway Station on May 30. The baby has been safely rescued and reunited with her mother.

The accused, identified as Roshni Vinod Wageshri, a resident of the slum area opposite Panvel Railway Station, was seen in CCTV footage leaving the station with the baby and boarding a train heading towards Pune.

Acting swiftly, Panvel City Police formed five teams to investigate the case. Based on the CCTV leads, teams were dispatched to Karjat, Lonavala, Daund, and Pune to trace the woman and the child. However, the accused changed her route, returning from Lonavala towards Panvel, seemingly to evade capture.

"When we learnt that the accused lady got down at Lonavala and boarded a return train, we alerted all the nearby police stations and circulated her photo," senior police inspector Nitin Thackeray from Panvel City police station said.

During the search, Kalamboli Police Station senior police inspector Rajendra Kote informed Panvel Police that PSI Trupti Shelke had spotted the accused with the baby near Kalamboli Fire Brigade while on patrol. PSI Shelke promptly detained the woman and ensured the baby’s safety.

Panvel City Police officers immediately rushed to Kalamboli Police Station, took custody of the accused and the rescued baby, and brought them back to Panvel. The baby was later handed over safely to her mother.

The case, registered under CR No. 292/2025, BNS 137(2) (IPC 363) at Panvel City Police Station, is under further investigation.

According to police, it is suspected that the accused lady would have kidnapped the baby for begging purpose.

This operation was carried out under the leadership of Milind Bharambe, Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai; Sanjay Ainpure, Additional Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai; Prashant Mohite, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 2, Panvel; and Ashok Rajput, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Panvel Division.

Officers who played key roles in the case include PI Nitin Thakre, PI (Crime) Shakir Patel, PI (Administration) Abhijeet Abhang, API Prakash Pawar, PSI Trupti Shelke, PSI Vinod Labhade, PSI Ankur Shelar, PSI Uddhav Solanke, and constables Mahendra Waykar, Amol Doiphode, Ganthade, Amol Patil, Borse, Mahesh Patil, Kiran Karad, Vishal Dudhe, and Nitin Kamble.