Mumbai: The Palghar police rescued a seven-year-old boy from his captor within 24 hours while he was being taken to Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Saturday.
The investigators said that the boy’s father, a rickshaw driver, had been approached on several occasions for monetary help by the accused, who later kidnapped his son from school.
A team of the Tulinj police tracked down the accused to Manmad in a train headed to UP and was apprehended in the nick of the time. The person was identified as Mahendra Yadav, who had kidnapped Sanan (7). The police said that Yadav had approached the child’s father, Lalchand Yadav (35), asking for money, which he never gave.
“After his unsuccessful attempts, the accused went to Vidya Waridhi school in Nalasopara (east) at around 2 pm and fled with the kid after luring him into going with him. After the boy’s father could not trace him till evening, he lodged a complaint with the Tulinj police station,” said an officer of Palghar police.
After a preliminary investigation and based on the statement of the victim’s father, Yadav was suspected to be involved in the kidnapping. The same was confirmed after the police could not find him at his residence or elsewhere. The police began tracking his mobile phone and he was found to be travelling to UP.
A police team at Manmad was informed about the exact whereabouts of Yadav who was intercepted at Manmad soon after the train halted there. The kidnapped child was found in his possession. The police have handed over the kid to his family and the officials arrested Yadav soon after.
A case of kidnapping has been registered against Yadav and he has been remanded in police custody for further investigation in the case. The police is yet to ascertain the motive for seeking money only from the child’s father.
