JAJPUR: A woman and her minor son, allegedly kidnapped from Balichandrapur market in Jajpur district, were rescued by police from Saraipali in Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday.
Subhalaxmi Mishra (37) and her son Anshuman (15), residents of Krushnapur Sasan in the district went missing from Balichandrapur market where they had gone for shopping on October 12. When they did not return home, Subhalaxmi’s family members tried to contact her over phone but it was switched off. They then reached Balichandrapur late at night and started a frantic search to trace the mother-son duo but in vain. Subhalaxmi’s scooter was found before a shop and it had some items she had bought from the market.
The family then filed an FIR with Balichandrapur police following which a probe was launched to trace them. In course of investigation, police received a call from their counterparts in Saraipali in Chhattisgarh informing that Subhalaxmi and Anshuman were found in an unconscious state and were admitted to a hospital.
A team of Balichandrapur police went to the hospital and brought Subhalakshmi and Ansuman to police station on Friday night. Police said some unidentified persons had allegedly kidnapped them. The kidnappers took the mother-son duo to Chhattisgarh in a vehicle and while moving through Sareipali came across a police patrol vehicle. In panic, they dumped Subhalakshmi and her son on the roadside and fled.
“Some unidentified persons kidnapped Subhalaxmi and her son from Balichandrapur bazaar.
The kidnappers rendered them unconscious with an anaesthetic in the vehicle,” said Balichandrapur IIC Bijayini Malla. The police are yet to confirm identity of the kidnappers and ascertain their motive. “We have recorded statement of the victim and her son and our investigation to identify the kidnappers is underway,’’ she said.
Police said Subhalaxmi had married a man from Mangarajpur within Jajpur Sadar police station limits in 2005. After death of her husband in 2013, Subhalakshmi’s in-laws started torturing her. Unable to bear the torture, she returned to her parents’ house at Krushnapur Sasan and was staying with them along with her son.