Kidnapped child rescued, two held

A two and a half year old boy, kidnapped from Delhi at the insistence of a childless couple, was rescued from Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur and two of his abductors arrested, Delhi Police said on Friday.

Vinod and Panna Lal were arrested on Thursday from Bans village in Gorakhpur and Sumit rescued from Lal's house.

Vinod had kidnapped Sumit for Lal and his wife Sushila and was offered Rs 1 lakh for it.

On October 8, Sumit went missing while playing outside his home in Garhi village here.

"During investigation, the police teams examined 15 CCTV cameras installed in Dushghara Mohalla, including the entry and exit routes of Garhi village. A person was seen taking to the child," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said.

The teams also launched a door-to-door search campaign in all the adjoining colonies, he said.

Meanwhile, the man seen in the CCTV footage was identified as Vinod. He was reported missing five days after the kidnapping.

"We found that a couple, Lal and Sushila, known to Vinod and who stayed at the first floor of the same building had also been missing since the day of the crime," Baaniya said.

Looking for Vinod, the police reached his native village in Gorakhpur but he was not found there.

"The team conducted a search operation in 26 villages and Vinod was apprehended from Bans village. Later, Lal was arrested and Sumit rescued. However, Sushila managed to escape," the officer added.

During interrogation, Lal confessed and told the police that he had a son who died of chicken pox a couple of years ago.

"After his son's death, his wife could not conceive again. The couple then hired Vinod and offered him Rs 1 lakh to kidnap a child for them. They gave Rs 20,000 to him in advance," the DCP said.

They had been trying to kidnap Sumit for the last four months but failed in their attempts. However, they succeeded on October 8 after Vinod lured Sumit by offering him a toffee, he added.

--IANS

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