THOOTHUKUDI: A one-and-a-half-year-old baby boy was allegedly kidnapped by a woman from the Tiruchendur Murugan temple premises. Tiruchendur temple police registered a case and began a search for the kidnapper based on the CCTV footage available, on Friday.
Sources said the Muthuraj-Rathi couple, hailing from Manavalapuram village in Kanniyakumari, had come to Mutharaman temple in Kulasekarapattinam to worship and were staying on the temple premises. "The couple had three children, including a one-and-a-half-year-old boy child. An unidentified woman devotee befriended the couple during their stay in the temple," sources added.
"On Thursday evening, the couple moved to Tiruchendur Murugan temple along with their children, to wash the clothes. The woman also accompanied them. When Rathi went to wash clothes, Muthuraj had gone to a shop leaving the child under the woman's care. On his return, Muthuraj could not find the woman and the child," sources added.
Based on a complaint, the Tiruchendur temple police registered a case against the woman. A preliminary investigation revealed that the police managed to spot the woman fleeing with the child on the CCTV footage. A police team has been deployed to nab the woman and rescue the child, said a top police officer.