RANIPET: A one-year-old girl, Maheshwari, who went missing from Ranipet on September 24, was rescued from Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, 34 days later. Five people, including two women, have been arrested for allegedly abducting the child.
The child is the daughter of Sekhar and Prema. The accused were identified as Santhosh (35), Kumaran (30), Boopathy (42) and Kowsalya (35), all from Wallajah, and Malliswari (age not known), from Renigunta.
According to police, Malliswari, who is childless, had expressed her desire to have a child to her friend Kowsalya. The latter conveyed this to her husband, Boopathy, and neighbour Santhosh.
After around six months of planning, Santhosh, with the help of Kumaran, allegedly took the child at around 1 am on September 24 while she was sleeping beside her parents on the roadside near the Sipcot project office.
Following the registration of a case, five special teams were formed under the deputy superintendent of police of the Ranipet sub-division, with inspectors and five sub-inspectors from the Sipcot and Ratnagiri police stations.
The teams examined more than 100 CCTV footage clips from the scene and surrounding areas and used technical surveillance to trace the accused.
All five were arrested on Wednesday, and three two-wheelers allegedly used in the crime were seized. Police said Malliswari had allegedly promised to pay Kowsalya for the child but failed to do so.
According to sources, Santhosh works as a car driver for a TVK functionary in the district, and his Instagram account contains posts related to the party. However, the TVK’s Ranipet West district secretary said Santhosh held no position in the party and had not been assigned any responsibility.
CCTV footage helped crack abduction case
Police formed five special teams, examined footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras and used technical surveillance to trace the one-year-old girl, leading to the arrest of five accused and the seizure of three two-wheelers allegedly used in the crime