On Oct. 19, police recovered one‑year‑old Maheswari from an air‑conditioned room in Andhra Pradesh, ending a month‑long hunt that began when she vanished from a roadside near SIPCOT in Ranipet district on Sept. 23.
Shekar, 46, and Prema, 23, lead a nomadic life, collecting discarded bottles and seeking alms, and were sleeping by the roadside when the child disappeared.
The search traced the toddler to a 44‑year‑old woman, Malleshwari, known to a couple from Ranipet who allegedly stole the baby and handed her over.
Five people—Malleshwari, her husband, and the couple Boopathi and Kausalya—have been arrested; investigators are probing whether money changed hands.
This rescue follows a spate of child‑related incidents in Tamil Nadu, including the disappearance of three girls in Tiruvannamalai and a missing boy in Madurai.
Police will continue probing the alleged sale, and the case is currently under investigation by the state’s child protection unit.