A nine-month-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped while she was sleeping with her mother on a footpath along Surya Sen Street was rescued from Bihar early on Wednesday.

Two men have been arrested. Police said the accused tried to sell the girl but failed to find a buyer.

The alleged kidnapping was reported around 4am on May 20, the police said.

The baby girl was sleeping beside her mother, who is originally from Mathurapur in South 24-Parganas, when she was taken away, officers said.

A probe was launched after the matter was reported to Muchipara police station. The cops scanned CCTV footage from the area and found that the accused had come riding a van-rickshaw and kidnapped the girl.

“The van-rickshaw-puller was identified and interrogated. He admitted to the crime and spilled the beans about his associates, who are from Bihar,” said deputy commissioner, central, Kolkata Police, Indira Mukherjee.

The police identified the van-rickshaw-puller as Indradeb Das, a resident of College Street.

During the interrogation, Das reportedly identified his associates as Debu, alias Suresh, and Nanikishore, who is Debu’s father. They are residents of Jamui district in Bihar.

An officer said the trio had planned to sell the baby to any childless couple for a good sum.

“They could not arrange a buyer in one day and decided to take the child to Bihar to avert the police glare,” said
the officer.

A team from Muchipara police station conducted a raid in Bihar and rescued the girl early on Wednesday.

Nanikishore was arrested but his son could not be found during the raid. The police said he was still at large.

The child has been handed over to her mother.

A senior police officer said an investigation has been launched to find out if the trio had been involved in other abductions.

“Kidnapping a minor with the intention of trafficking is a very serious offence. The team was quick to react and round up the accused, or else there was a possibility of child having been sold and trafficked elsewhere. That would have made it very difficult to rescue her," said a senior officer in Kolkata Police.

The accused will be produced in court on Thursday.