Saas-bahu enmity leads to child’s kidnap
SIVAGANGA: When a distraught man walked into the Karaikudi police station on Thursday night, seeking help to trace his abducted newborn, little did the sleuths realise that their investigations would unravel a mystery as twisted as it was cruel. Not only did the police trace the child within hours of the alleged abduction, they also caught the suspect: The child’s grandmother.
On Thursday night, Arun, a realtor from Chekalai 1st Street in Karaikudi, reached the North police station claiming that his newborn Athvik had been abducted. Arun said that the child was with his mother Rajeshwari, who was taking him to her husband Arogyam’s place, when it happened.
When questioned, Rajeshwari claimed that she was intercepted by a man, who inquired whether the child was Arun’s. The man won her confidence by masquerading as Arun’s acquaintance. No sooner had Rajeshwari handed over the baby to the man to hold than he drove away in a car.
However, the police were not convinced with what Rajeshwari offered as her version, and soon started sifting through the CCTV footage available in the region. A scan of the footage revealed that no car resembling Rajeshwari’s account had passed through the area. Their suspicion aroused, the sleuths grilled Rajeshwari, who wilted under scrutiny and confessed to having enacted the drama to take revenge on her daughter-in-law.
Rajeshwari had been nursing a grouse against her daughter in-law, Thainish, who had married Arun earlier this year against her wishes. Rajeshwari blamed Thainish for separating Arun from her after their love marriage. However, Rajeshwari attempted to mend fences by taking care of a pregnant Thainish.
After Thainish gave birth to the child, under the pretext of taking the child to Arogyam’s house, Rajeshwari took the child and gave him to her neighbour Fathima, who had a childless daughter. Police said that there was no money transaction between Rajeshwari and Fathima. A probe is on.