ROURKELA: The attempted kidnapping of a six-year-old girl in Deogarh district was thwarted by quick police action on Tuesday. With police sealing off all escape routes and putting in place strict checks, the kidnappers were forced to abandon the girl within nine hours of her abduction. The girl, from a business family, was let go near a house at Bhoipali in Sundargarh district. She was found by a woman and handed over to Deogarh police. She was later delivered to her family members.
SP Pradyumna Mishra said the incident took place near the victim’s house at Deogarh market. The child along with her grandmother was returning home from tuition at around 6.35 pm on Monday when a kidnapper violently shoved the elderly woman to the ground. He grabbed the girl, handed her over to another kidnapper waiting on a motorcycle with the ignition turned on and sped away from the spot.
Mishra said on receiving information, the cops immediately sealed all exit routes with the help of local police stations. Villagers were also mobilised with the help of PRI members to block exit routes through rural areas and forests. The kidnappers abandoned the two-wheeler after travelling for some distance and took a four-wheeler. They appeared to have failed to proceed through the pre-planned route due to the swift action of the police and tried to escape via Sundargarh town.
Mishra said Deogarh police received information that two persons were seeking to book hotel rooms at around 1 am but were reluctant to produce any identity proof. “Immediately, a police team led by the Deogarh SDPO rushed to Sundargarh town. As a police raid was taking place at a hotel in the town, the miscreants present in another hotel got suspicious and managed to escape. Since the police were continuously after them, the miscreants dropped the child at Bhoipali and fled,” he said.
Rajgangpur SDPO Abhishek Mallick said the girl was found alone on the service road of a bridge at Bhoipali at around 4 am near the house of ANM Laxmi Mishra who took her inside and informed Bargaon police. The child was slightly traumatised with no visible external injury marks.
Though it is suspected that ransom demand could be the reason behind the kidnap, the culprits found no time to make a ransom call as they failed to reach their designated safe house.The SP said vital clues have been collected about the miscreants and more than two persons were involved in the kidnap bid. The abductors would be nabbed soon, he added.
