KOLLAM: Kollam rural crime branch submitted a 1000-page chargesheet in the abduction case of six-year-old Abigail Sara Regi, of Oyoor, before the Kottarakkara First Class Magistrate Court II on Thursday. A total of 16 sections of the IPC and Juvenile Justice Act have been invoked against the accused, Padmakumar, 52, his wife MR Anitha Kumari, 45, and their daughter, Anupama Padman, 20. The accused are natives of Chathannoor, Kollam.
The police stated that the accused had a financial liability of Rs 5 crore, and the abduction was planned to extract ransom from the child’s parents.
According to the investigation report, the child was kidnapped and held captive demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh. Statements of over 160 eyewitnesses, including the victim’s elder brother Jonathan, were recorded. Police also seized notebooks, laptops, mobile phones, fake number plates, and around 150 other items linked to the incident. Notably, the accused had outlined their abduction plan in the notebook.
Moreover, the accused deliberately targeted rural areas for abduction to evade surveillance cameras and conducted multiple visits to the site before the crime.
The accused fabricated three fake registration plates. Subsequently, they destroyed the number plates and disposed them of near Kulathupuzha after the abduction. Additionally, the child’s school bag and books were burned by the accused.
Abigail was abducted in front of her home in Oyoor, Kollam district, around 4.30 pm on November 27 while she was going to a tuition centre with her brother.
The following day at 1 pm, the accused abandoned the girl on a bench at the Kollam Ashram grounds and fled from the place. Subsequently, the accused were taken into custody from Puliyara, Tamil Nadu, on December 1. Their arrest was formally recorded the following day after interrogation at the Adoor AR camp.
