E-Paper
Two kids rescued after arrest of serial kidnapper
Police are probing his role in the abduction of a four-year-old, who recently went missing
Police have arrested an Uttar Pradesh resident and rescued two children, aged four and eight, whom he had allegedly kidnapped and pushed into begging. The kids were found at a migrant quarter in Moti Nagar on Monday.
The accused has been identified as Krishan Kumar, a native of Jaunpur in UP.
As per the police, the accused used to lure kids playing on streets with crackers and sneak them away. He would then torture the kids by burning them with matchsticks to psychologically condition them into following his command. The children would then be made to beg or take up rag-picking. To avoid suspicion, the kidnapper had taught the kids to address him as ‘papaji’.
Confesses to kidnapping five children
Though the accused has so far confessed to kidnapping five children, three of whom had managed to escape, police suspect he may have had a hand in the abduction of a four-year-old who had gone missing recently.
Police have so far established that Krishan had been operating in
Focal Point area, Jamalpur and Bhamian road. He used to look for small children, preferably under the age of 10.
Sharing details, joint commissioner of police (JPC, rural) Kanwaldeep Kaur said they are seeking police remand of the accused for questioning.
“It is not clear at the moment if Krishan had kidnapped the four-year-old child who had gone missing recently. We had tried to gather some details from the rescued children but they are currently under trauma and we do not want to put any kind of pressure on them,” Kaur said.
She added that the accused was notorious in the area for his child lifting activities. “In December last year, the accused had kidnapped two children aged 10, from Focal Point area. But both kids had managed to escape and reach home safely,” said the JPC.
She added that on September 22, Krishan had kidnapped a nine-year-old. Fortunately, this child also managed to escape. “We had got a clear shot of the accused on the close circuit television (CCTV) camera in the area but he used to shift base frequently, thus escaping arrest,” said Kaur.
During the preliminary investigation, it came to fore that the accused used to live alone and was using the children as bonded labourers so that he could earn more money.
Rescued:
A four-year-old, who was kidnapped from Mahavir Colony, Bhamian Road, on October 11.
An eight-year-old who was kidnapped from Focal Point area on October 13.
