The eight-month-old baby, Arisa Jannat Zaifa, abducted during a robbery in Azimpur, was taken for ransom, said Lt Col Munim Ferdous, director of the RAB's law and media wing.
The baby was rescued from Mohammadpur's Nabinagar Housing area on Friday midnight.
The main abductor, Fatema Akhter Shapla, 27, was arrested during the operation.
Lt Col Munim Ferdous detailed the operation in a press briefing at the RAB Media Centre in Kawran Bazar on Saturday.
He revealed that Shapla, along with accomplices Suman, Raihan, and Hasan, orchestrated the robbery and abduction, intending to demand a hefty ransom from the child’s mother.
However, intense media and social media attention forced the group to go into hiding.
According to RAB, the baby’s mother, Farzana Akhter, a stenographer at the Ministry of Home Affairs, was targeted by Shapla two weeks ago.
Shapla befriended Farzana while commuting on the same bus, eventually gaining her trust by feigning helplessness.
She convinced Farzana to let her sublet a room in her Azimpur home, moving in on Thursday night.
That night, Shapla reportedly drugged Farzana with sedatives.
The following morning, her accomplices entered the house, stealing Tk1.7 lakh in cash and seven loads of gold ornaments before abducting the baby. The group then took the child to Nabinagar Housing.
RAB found Shapla hiding in the Nabinagar Housing area, where they rescued the baby and arrested her.
Lt Col Munim Ferdous confirmed that Shapla admitted to planning the crime for ransom.
During the press briefing, Lt Col Munim Ferdous said that the baby’s father Abu Zafar is under surveillance as part of the investigation.
While Zafar and Farzana were separated due to marital discord, Zafar frequently visited their Azimpur home to care for the child during the day.
RAB is probing whether he had any involvement in the incident.
Shapla, originally from Bogra, studied at Lalmatia Mahila College until 2014 but did not graduate. She lived with her mother and sister in the Nabinagar Housing area in Adabar.
The police are continuing their investigation into the robbery and abduction to identify and apprehend the remaining suspects.
