Man kidnapped 3-year-old for `20 to buy liquor

Subash Vishwakarma, 50, arrested by the Samta Nagar police for abducting a three-year-old boy, is a habitual drinker and mentally unstable, the police said. HT reports.

Subash Vishwakarma, 50, arrested by the Samta Nagar police for abducting a three-year-old boy, is a habitual drinker and mentally unstable, the police said.

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He told the police that he did not know what he was doing and just wanted the Rs 20 note the child was holding in his hand so that he could buy liquor.

Vishwakarma lives in Lokmanya Chawl in Hanuman Nagar in Kandivli (East), while his wife and child live in Uttar Pradesh.

A carpenter by profession, Vishwakarma did not have a permanent job to fund his drinking habits.

"On Monday, he was loitering in the market area when he saw the child, Aryan Soni, standing next to his grandmother," said Anant Kenjale, senior inspector, Samta Nagar police station.

"The boy had a Rs 20 note is his hand. Thinking that the amount would suffice his craving for liquor for the day, he picked up the child and fled from the spot."

A vegetable vendor spotted Vishwakarma with Aryan and informed the child's grandmother. By tracing his mobile phone, the police arrested Vishwakarma near a crematorium in Kandivli (East).

Vishwakarma was produced in court on Monday remanded to police custody.