A seven-year-old girl kidnapped from Tirumala was found in Bengaluru on Friday. Police have arrested the kidnapper, R Shalini (34).
Police received an anonymous tip-off which led to the arrest in Vathuru on Friday, Deccan Chronicle reports. The 34-year-old woman is a resident of CV Raman Nagar in Bengaluru.
Police suspect that the kidnapper was either into child trafficking or child begging.
Police said that the vast publicity to help find Nandini yielded result.
Nandini was kidnapped near the Tirumala shrine on July 23 when she went to refill water. The girl’s parents Suresh and Dakshayani work at a tea shop in Tirumala.
Following a complaint from Nandini’s parents, police immediately examined CCTV footage and found that a saree-clad middle aged woman had abducted the girl.
The Tirumala police formed 14 teams to bring back the girl safely, reports The New Indian Express.
The kidnapper reportedly visited Tirumala on July 22 and after darshan at the Lord Venkateswara Temple, she was looking to abduct children.
After arresting the kidnapper, Tirupati Urban SP, Abhishek Mohanty, said, “We gave the case vast publicity. 14 teams were deployed soon after receiving the complaint. We printed wall posters in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and English. This publicity helped us catch the kidnapper”.
He said that further investigation will be carried out.
Mohanty also revealed that the kidnapper, Shalini, is a mother of two boys.
The case was a challenge to the Tirumala police because, Nandini was the second child to be kidnapped from the temple premises within a month.
Last month, a one-year old was abducted near Golla Mandapam. Police were successful in bringing back the children safely in both the instances.