A teenage girl was apprehended by locals in Qureshi Nagar, Kurla, for attempting to kidnap a two-year-old, and handed over to the police. This, the cops say, happened because of an awareness drive by them.

The accused, reportedly aged between 14 and 16 years, was caught by locals who spotted her fleeing with the kid in her arms. Mohammad Qazi, a local, said: “The child, Shamshad Alam, was playing outside his house while his mother, Zarina Khatun, was busy working when the accused spotted him. She picked her up in her arms and was trying to flee when a neighbour saw her and raised an alarm.

“People saw her near the mosque in our locality where she said she had come to collect alms as it was Friday. When she was questioned and threatened with dire consequences, she confessed that she had kidnapped kids five or six times before.

“She said she sold the children to a woman, Shamim, in Bandra for about Rs100 a kid.”