NEW DELHI: A 21-year-old man kidnapped a child (5) from the city to gift him to his uncle who lost four sons during their birth, an official said Saturday.
The accused, identified as Neeraj (21) and his maternal uncle Sunit Babu (31), were arrested and the child was safely rescued from the latter’s home in Aligarh, UP.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (southeast) Esha Pandey said that on January 1, a minor child had reportedly gone missing from a place near his residence in the area of Gautampuri, Part-I, Delhi.
After searching the entire vicinity for 2 days, the boy’s father approached Badarpur Police Station on January 3 and reported that his son was playing outside the house and has been missing since January 1.
The father didn’t suspect or alleged anyone for kidnapping, yet the police, sensing the gravity of the matter, registered an FIR under section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC.
During the investigation, a police team was formed that thoroughly questioned the complainant, his family members, relatives, friends, and local residents of the area and also scrutinized the CCTV footage of the entire area. “The boy was tracked playing and roaming in one camera only but nothing was found substantiating the fact about the abduction of the child,” the DCP said.
The police got a breakthrough when they found that a local resident and complainant’s neighbour named Neeraj also left the area on the same day and didn’t turn up till the next morning. Therefore, his digital footprints were analyzed after which it was revealed that he had left Delhi.
Eventually, the police traced suspect Neeraj, who initially tried to mislead the police, but later revealed facts. “He revealed that he kidnapped the child from a place near his house and shifted him to the residence of his maternal uncle namely Sunit Babu at Village Jiravli, District Aligarh (UP),” the official said.
The accused also revealed that his uncle’s wife gave birth to four sons but they died one after another just after their births. Further, he revealed that he wanted to gift a baby boy to his maternal uncle so he planned to kidnap the child.
The child was safely rescued from UP’s Aligarh and was medically examined. The culpable roles of each of the accused persons are being established accordingly, the official added.