TIRUPUR: Swift action by the town police based on a phone call from an alert cobbler foiled an attempt to kidnap a schoolgirl near Kangeyam Bus Stop on Tuesday. The sexagenarian cobbler, whose presence of mind helped police nab the accused, received a cash reward from Superintendent of Police A Kayalvizhi on Wednesday.
It was a routine day for P Murugesan (60), who runs his business from a makeshift shop in front of the Kangeyam Bus Stop. Around evening, he was going to a nearby public toilet when he chanced upon a schoolgirl in the company of a north Indian youth.
Murugesan felt something amiss and struck a conversation with the girl. “She was in school uniform and the man did not seem like her relative. I talked to the girl and learnt she was from Devanampalayam. The man accompanying her looked drunk,” Murugesan told Express over phone.
His suspicion aroused, Murugesan immediately rushed to a public phone booth. He implored a passer-by to help him dial up the police. On information, the Kangeyam police official rushed to the spot and detained the youth.
he police identified the man as Jitender Sahni from Bihar. While the motive behind the attempt was not established, the accused was remanded in judicial custody. The girl was sent home with her parents. According to a senior police official, “It was sheer luck that Murugesan saw her.