Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Police successfully rescued a one-and-a-half-year-old boy who had been kidnapped from his visually impaired mother in Bhubaneswar. The incident occurred early on Sunday when the baby was taken while his mother and sister were sleeping on a footpath.
Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh announced that the baby was safely recovered and handed over to his mother after a medical examination at Capital Hospital.
Details of the Incident and Investigation:
- The baby was kidnapped early Sunday morning.
- The mother and sister of the baby were sleeping on the footpath when the incident happened.
- The police arrested Kedarsan Panda, 27, from the Puri district.
- A woman, Jhelam Rani Panda, was detained in the Balasore district, where the child was found.
- The child was rescued from the Khantapada police station area in the Balasore district.
- The kidnapper took the child to the Bhubaneswar railway station and then to Balasore by train.
- Jhelam Rani Panda received the child at the Balasore railway station.
- Jhelam Rani has two daughters and a nine-year-old son, who is seriously ill.
- Smt.Panda claimed she was looking for a male child for adoption.
- The police are verifying her claim and investigating her role in the kidnapping.
- The police formed four teams to search for the child, including teams that searched outside of Odisha.
- The police used human intelligence, technical intelligence, camera surveillance, and mobile forensics in the investigation.
- The Railway Protection Force, West Bengal Police, and the Balasore and Bhadrak district police provided assistance.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed his satisfaction with the safe return of the baby and praised the police for their efforts. He emphasized his government’s commitment to addressing the needs of the people, especially the poor and helpless.
The visually impaired mother confirmed the identity of her child by touching him.
She expressed her happiness and gratitude to Lord Ram and the police for their swift action. She recounted that she was unable to return to her shelter home on Saturday night due to bad weather and had slept on the footpath with her other children.
She reported that an unidentified man offered them juice and gave her child a mobile phone to play with and then kidnapped the child.