The Hyderabad police on Tuesday traced a kidnapped three-year-old girl within three hours of the crime being reported. The three-year-old girl, Sarita, was kidnapped allegedly by a flower vendor and was being taken in a bus to Nizamabad. The police traced the child’s whereabouts with the help of CCTV footage.
27-year-old Swaroopa and her three-year-old child had left their home at Daulatabad in Medak after a marital dispute and had been residing at the Secunderabad railway station since June 19. Swaroopa was befriended by D Nagamma, a 37-year-old flower vendor, whose shop was located near the railway station. She took the mother-daughter duo to her Bachupally home on Friday, say police.
On Monday, however, under the pretext of sending Swaroopa and her daughter back to their native village, Nagamma took the duo to Bowenpally bus stop. The police say Nagamma gave Rs 50 to Swaroopa, asking her to buy something for the child while waiting at the bus stop.
When Swaroopa returned after 15 minutes, both Sarita and Nagamma were nowhere to be found. Shortly after, the mother approached Bowenpally police, seeking assistance.
The Bowenpally inspector, C Anjaiah told the Times of India that they reviewed CCTV footage and identified the bus that Nagamma boarded with the child. The bus was intercepted near Ramayampet with the help of the local police.
Nagamma has been arrested and the child was rescued and handed over to the mother. Police say Nagamma is a native of Nizamabad and kidnapped the girl based on instructions of a man from her hometown.
The police have launched a probe to identify and nab the man who allegedly instructed Nagamma to kidnap the child.
Earlier in May, the Hyderabad Task Force had arrested a woman for kidnapping a minor boy from a hospital in Hyderabad. The police arrested the woman using CCTV footage from where the child had gone missing. While the kidnapper was arrested and the child rescued, The New Indian Express reported that both the child and the kidnapper later tested positive for COVID-19.