Abducted baby found in Albion house

Jun 02, 2014 News

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– kidnapper told husband she delivered child  

By Romila Boodram and Leon Suseran

The sleepless nights, continuous crying and constant visits to the Whim Police Station came to an end yesterday for the young couple whose nine-day-old baby boy was abducted from the Port Mourant Market two Saturdays ago.
After eight days of intense searching in both Guyana and neighbouring Suriname, the abducted baby was finally reunited with his parents, Sandra Mc Lean and Ravikant Vistonauth around 10:00hrs yesterday.

This was after ranks, acting on information, swooped down on a Chesney Front, Albion house and found the infant in the company of his female kidnapper, her husband, Alvin, and her mother-in-law, Gangadai ‘Baby’ Budhram.
Police sources said that an informant had told investigators early yesterday morning of seeing a woman “moving around with a baby,” and appeared positive that the infant was the missing child.
Speaking to the media yesterday, B’ Division Commander, Brian Joseph said that a detective was in Chesney Front district when he received information about a woman and baby staying in the house. The policeman called for backup and the discovery was made.
According to the Commander, based on statements taken from the persons who police took to the station, ranks might have to visit other parts of the country to get to the bottom of the story.
This newspaper understands that on being arrested, the alleged abductor initially claimed that she had paid the mother $800,000 for the baby. However, she subsequently changed her story.

“The victim has positively identified her as the woman who came to her home, and invited her to the market…and then disappeared,” a police official said.
Police said that the baby was medically examined and is in good health.
While the alleged abductor, known as “Debbie,” is being considered as the prime suspect, investigators are trying to ascertain whether her husband and mother-in-law were a part of the scheme.
Meanwhile, the relieved couple expressed thanks to God and to persons who had helped to find their child.
“I am happy that me get back me baby. I thank God that He showed us the way and we get back our baby today and this teach me a lesson that I will never, ever let a stranger hold back my baby or lef them with strangers—I won’t ever, ever do that again,” the young mother said.
Asked how she was informed that her baby had been found, the mother of now three children explained that she received a telephone call early yesterday. However, she said she was a little skeptical, since four women were earlier arrested and none was the kidnapper.
“ I come and stand up in front of the station and I ain’t see nobody and then my husband said, ‘Look the baby!’ and I told him he was mad and he pushed me and I went and saw it and told the police that was my baby,” a joyful and relaxed McLean related. “From the time I see his face, I knew it was my baby.”
According to Mc Lean, the past few days were full of horror, pain and stress. She said she hardly slept and whenever she did sleep, it was for short durations and she would wake up to pray.
“Since last week Saturday to this morning we are stressed—whole day I sit down crying—I didn’t eat—I prayed, ‘ow God let me find me baby’, and me husband didn’t cry no day until today when he see the baby.”

SUSPECT CLAIMED CHILD WAS HERS
From reports received by Kaieteur News, the suspect was pregnant late last year but had a miscarriage. However, her husband was apparently unaware of this development, and assumed that his spouse was still pregnant.

According to a source, the two were at Mahadia about three weeks ago when the suspect told her spouse that she was “ready to get baby,” and he gave her money to travel to the city.
“When he (eventually) came home she showed him the baby,” the source said.
But police sources revealed that the husband and mother-in-law claimed that the suspect was pregnant up to three weeks ago and they both thought that she had given birth when she telephoned her mother-in-law early last week and asked that she pick her and the baby up from Goed Fortuin, West Bank Demerara. Her husband was in Mahdia at that time.

Lying low
Gangadai  Budhram, the mother-in-law, said that while her daughter-in-law was staying at her home she stayed indoors all the time and never left the house once.
Budhram claimed that she had no idea her daughter-in-law had a baby that belonged to someone else for an entire week.
“We brought her last Sunday (two Sundays ago) from Goed Fortuin…she had a child from there, she said she delivered the child,” the kidnapper’s mother-in-law said, adding that her son works in Mahdia and the couple only tied the knot a few months ago.
“She acted normal, normal…he (the baby) didn’t cry—so you can’t suspect…she nursed the child and so…she never leave home with the child.”
“Every day I talking about the missing baby story we see in the papers—I didn’t know that was the child—we didn’t question! Every day I talking about the story and she listening. If only I can ask she now why she did this—if she want to go to jail, then let her go! I didn’t know nothing!”
A female resident of Chesney Front area said that every time she visited the small shop at the bottom of the house, the alleged baby- snatcher would get up from a hammock and go inside the house with the child. Other neighbours said that they never suspected anything.
As the news of the rescued infant spread, scores of residents of nearby villages, started to pour into the Whim Police Station compound, anxious to get a glimpse of the baby and his mother.
“The police will have to ask her what happened to her baby—we don’t believe it died—she was pregnant a few weeks ago—she has to find that child too,” a resident shouted.
“She might have gone and take the baby to Mahdia—who knows, she might have sold it too or sacrifice it—she wutliss!” another resident suggested.
As the mother and baby made their way out of the police station, the crowd swarmed the two of them.
They shouted, “Don’t give nobody your baby to hold—even if you want to pee! Finally, girl, you get back your baby—don’t let go of him again!” shouted another.
The young couple’s woes started two Saturdays ago, when the kidnapper whom Mc Lean met at the Skeldon Public Hospital, several days before she delivered her baby boy, disappeared with the baby.
The woman, whom she identified as one Bibi Khan, was reportedly based in Suriname.
Mc Lean said that the woman returned after she had delivered her son.
“She asked to play with the baby. She said that she has to pay him and she put $5000 under his blanket and she lifted him. We were talking and I gave her my address and so. She spent like an hour and then she left.”
According to McLean, the woman did not go back to the hospital.
“I didn’t see her back until she come to my house. She come and played with the baby and she gave him another $5000, and she asked if she can buy stuff for him and I said ‘no problem’ because we were having a nine-day celebration for the baby.””When we were in Skeldon, she went into a store and then she come out back and say that my baby brings luck to her because she got through with whatever business she had to do. She said that she had to buy something in a Chinese store but “like after she see the cameras she didn’t go. But I didn’t really suspect anything.”Afterward, we went to the Port Mourant Market and she said that she wanted fish. She tell me that the baby will be safe with her outside, while I go and buy the fish in the market. But when I come out back she was gone.”

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