CHENNAI: A 24-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for playing a ‘prank’ that a missing child was in his custody. Harini, a 2-year-old girl child from a gypsy community, went missing on September 15 when the family had stayed near the Ponjur bazaar. They lodged a complaint at the Anaikat police station and the search for the child is on.
“A month ago, an Erode based NGO announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh to anyone who gives any information regarding the lost child. On Saturday, he had contacted the NGO and claimed that the girl was in his custody and only after the NGO released the said amount, he would hand over her over,” said a police officer.
Suspecting it to be a prank, the NGO members contacted the police and a team nabbed him from Madurai. The man, identified as S Rajeshwaran (24), had played the ‘prank’ to get the money. He was arrested by the Anaikat police on charges of cheating and remanded under judicial custody.