Wanted to take child home for second wife: 74-year-old who kidnapped girl

“The girl, who stayed with her parents in the hutment area on the east side of Nerul railway station, was playing with her two siblings on Thursday afternoon. The accused lured the kids with vada pav, and while they were eating, he hired an auto rickshaw and left with the girl,” a police officer said, adding that after the parents returned and asked about the girl to her siblings, they were unaware of her whereabouts

Navi Mumbai: A 74-year-old man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly kidnapping a 4-year-old girl, who was playing near the Nerul railway station. According to the police, the accused – identified as Mani Thomas, a resident of Karawe village, Nerul – claimed that his second wife was childless, and hence, he took the girl home.

The accused had come to Mumbai from Kerala around 40 years ago in search of a job and has two sons from his first marriage. After the death of his first wife, he remarried and is childless in the second marriage. “We did a medical checkup of the child, and she is fine. No assault is observed. We would be producing her before the child welfare committee for further analysis of the child,” assistant inspector Nitin Khade from Nerul police station said (HT PHOTO)

Police officials said that the incident occurred on Thursday, and the accused was traced on Saturday after screening 150 CCTV footage.

“The girl, who stayed with her parents in the hutment area on the east side of Nerul railway station, was playing with her two siblings on Thursday afternoon. The accused lured the kids with vada pav, and while they were eating, he hired an auto rickshaw and left with the girl,” a police officer said, adding that after the parents returned and asked about the girl to her siblings, they were unaware of her whereabouts.

After searching for their child in vain, the couple approached the police. “Thomas, originally hailing from the Trivandrum district of Kerala, kept changing auto rickshaws and also walked in some areas, making it difficult to trace him. We watched the footage continuously and finally zeroed in on him in Karawe village. The accused claims that he wanted the child for his second wife. We are investigating if any similar cases have happened in nearby areas and if he is involved in any such cases,” senior inspector Tanaji Bhagat from Nerul police station said.

The accused had come to Mumbai from Kerala around 40 years ago in search of a job and has two sons from his first marriage. After the death of his first wife, he remarried and is childless in the second marriage. “We did a medical checkup of the child, and she is fine. No assault is observed. We would be producing her before the child welfare committee for further analysis of the child,” assistant inspector Nitin Khade from Nerul police station said.

After the kidnapping, the accused gave a haircut to the child, and she was further given a bath at his home, police officials said, adding, “We suspect that he could have planned to take the child to some other place for immoral trafficking and further investigations are on.”