A combo image shows a man taking the child away from his sleeping mother.

Gulf Today Report

A horrific video has spread on social media from India where surveillance cameras installed at Mathura railway station showed a man stealing a seven-month-old boy.

The video showed a man approaching a homeless woman sleeping with her baby on the sidewalk, then stealthily carries him calmly, then boards a train to get away.

After discovering the matter, the police formed search teams with the help of citizens.

The authorities said the child has been recovered from the house of a lady councillor of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Firozabad.

According to NDTV, Vinita Agarwal, a BJP leader and ward councillor in Firozabad Municipal Corporation had paid Rs 180,000 for the child to a gang involved in such practice. 

The railway police said the baby was picked up by a gang of six people from the railway station.

According to the police, the gang specialises in the trade of selling children.

Vinita said that she wanted a boy after having a baby girl.

The Mathura police arrested 8 people including a doctor couple, the BJP leader, her husband and four members of the gang that lifted the child from the railway station.

The incident took place on Aug.24 while the baby boy was sleeping with his mother on the platform.

After extensive operations, the police were able to locate the hospital and gang involved in the trade.

The doctor couple and others associated with the illegal trade were taken into custody.

Further operations have been launched to bust the racket, that steals and sells such children, police said.