PARADIP: Increasing incidents of child abduction have raised concern among the residents of the port town. On Saturday, a minor boy kidnapped a seven-year-old girl from Nayabazaar area here and attempted to rape her. Hearing her screams, locals rushed to the spot and nabbed the accused. Later, they handed him over to Jatadhari Marine police. This wasn’t an isolated incident.
On August 22, a two-year-old child was abducted while his parents were sleeping in their house. His mother Nalini Samal later filed an FIR with the local police who arrested Mamina Sahoo, a domestic help, from Mahakalpada and rescued the boy. Police also registered a kidnapping case against the accused Mamina. Similarly, a one-and-a-half-year-old infant was kidnapped from Atharbanki Railway Colony under Paradip police limits in August last year.
Even after a year of the incident, the child is yet to be traced by the police. As per reports, the infant was sleeping and his mother Jayshree Nayak had gone to a neighbour's house when unidentified miscreants entered the house and abducted the infant. A case has been registered. In 2015, Tanmay Burman (14) went missing while he was playing at Musadiha village.
Later, his body was found buried near a bush in the village. Paradip police registered a case and arrested three accused in this connection. Jatadhari IIC Bharat Kumar Behera said police have arrested the accused minor boy for kidnapping the girl from Nayabazaar area. Both the accused and the victim have been sent to the local hospital for medical examination, he added.
District Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairperson Bisesweri Mohanty said the number of kidnappings of minors in the port town has seen a steady rise. “We have sought the intervention of local police and Child Protection Officer to create awareness among the residents to remain vigilant and take preventive measures to check such cases,” he said.