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Mohali cops borrow rides from civilians to nab kidnapper, rescue 7-year-old
Zipping through traffic snarls, riding on civilians’ two-wheelers, Mohali cops managed to apprehend the accused, Poodan Kumar
The Mohali police on Saturday rescued a seven-year-old boy, who was kidnapped by a Bihar native, following a dramatic chase through Dera Bassi that lasted 45 minutes.
Zipping through traffic snarls, riding on civilians’ two-wheelers, the cops managed to apprehend the accused, Poodan Kumar. A native of Ghorasahan, Mothihari, Bihar, Poodan currently lives in a rented accommodation in Haibatpur, Dera Bassi.
The search operation started after the mother of the minor boy alerted the police.
Also a Bihar native, Usha Devi, 35, who lives in a room adjacent to the accused’s, told the police that he came to her room around 8 am and started arguing with her over an old monetary dispute.
Usha, who works as a domestic help, alleged that Poodan burnt the right hand of her youngest son, Prakash, with a cigarette butt. “After I confronted him, he left my room, but threatened that he will kidnap my son,” said the complainant, whose husband works in Mirpur, Bihar.
Usha said she left for work later, but on returning, could not find Prakash.
Neighbours informed her that they saw Poodan taking Prakash away, following which she alerted her employer Rohini Kaushal, who works as a branch manager in a private bank in Dera Bassi.
Rohini sounded the police, who launched a search operation. “We traced Poodan with the help of his mobile phone location and launched a chase. The accused was frequently changing vehicles. We pursued him through Kalka Chowk, Patiala Road, but our vehicles got stuck in a traffic jam near McDonald’s restaurant,” a police officer said.
The team then turned to civilians, who helped them chase the accused on their motorcycles. “We eventually spotted the accused with the child in a bus and nabbed him,” the officer added.
Police said the accused had some monetary dispute with the family, and kidnapped the child to get money and a mobile phone from them.
He was booked under Section 365 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code at the Dera Bassi police station. DSP Darpan Kaur Ahluwalia, who led the rescue operation with Dera Bassi SHO Jaskanwal Singh, said police will also add extortion section in the FIR.
