A three-year-old boy kidnapped from a carnival at Hyderabad’s Chitaaram temple by unknown persons returned home unharmed after a week on Wednesday. His abductors freed the boy, who was discovered along with a note with his father’s mobile number written on it.
On January 23, Uday Tej was abducted from the Chitaaram temple while his mother and siblings were shopping. After he was kidnapped, 10 police teams were formed to rescue Uday. Posters of Uday with contact numbers of the police and his father were pasted across Rachakonda limits, and were shared over social media platforms like WhatsApp as well.
Over a week later, in the wee hours of Wednesday, Uday was found with his head tonsured, and covered in a muffler and a towel on the doorstep of a locked house at neighbouring Anantasagar in Siddipet district. Hearing the boy’s cries, an elderly woman alerted those in the neighbourhood. It was then that a note was found in Uday’s pocket, with his father’s mobile phone number written on it.
When his father Bikshapathi received the call, he was sceptical initially. But Uday quickly confirmed his identity by naming his twin sister, Ananya. Subsequently, the police along with his father rescued the boy.
Speaking to TNM, the boy’s father G Bikshapathi, resident of Jeedimetla said, “For six days we suffered a lot… we couldn’t eat or sleep. It was dreadful. My home became a mourning place without my son’s presence. We are glad that he has returned without any harm.”
While no ransom call was made, the police, who are yet to establish the motive for the kidnapping, claim that the abductors panicked on realising that a manhunt had been ordered.
Jeedimetla Inspector, Shanker Reddy said, “Police took the case seriously. We put up posters and announced the boy was missing over the microphone and WhatsApp. It is certain that the abductors let off the kid because of the posters. In the posters, one of the contact numbers was incorrect. There was an error. The abductors wrote that number too in the note, which suggests that the abductors saw the poster and then let off Uday, fearing that the police have zeroed in on them.”