A four-year-old boy who was kidnapped by a neighbour in north Delhi’s Mahendra Park last week has been reunited with his parents.
The boy, Sumit, went missing while playing outside his house on September 6.
The police were informed the next day, after which a search was launched.
“All parks, markets, playgrounds, hotels, jhuggi clusters, metro stations, railway stations and hospitals in the area were searched, but no clue was found,” said Vijay Singh, DCP (North-West).
Accused wanted a son
The boy, who lived with his parents in Sarai Pipal Thala area of Mahendra Park, was allegedly handed over to a man who wanted a son and was disappointed after his wife recently gave birth to twin daughters.
The alleged kidnapper, Heera, and the receiver, Raju, have been arrested after a week-long probe. The DCP said that Raju had one son and three daughters. With his wife expected to deliver soon, he was hoping for a boy. Instead, his wife delivered two girls.
As part of the investigation, the police also focused on Sumit’s neighbours. One of them, 50-year-old Heera, was unable to explain his movements on the day of the abduction.
Lured boy with fruits
The police said that since Raju’s mother-in-law lived with Heera, he would visit often. It was during one such visit that he noticed the boy outside his home.
“Raju requested Heera to kidnap Sumit so that his family would “be complete”.
Heera had lured the kidnapped boy after offering him apples,” said Mr. Singh.
Though Sumit’s mother, Anju Devi, told the police he was unlikely to have kidnapped her son, the police did not let Heera off the hook.
A clue finally surfaced on Thursday.
“We learnt that the boy was spotted in north-east Delhi’s Gokalpuri in the company of Raju, a man known to Heera. Meanwhile, the local police there received a PCR call about the boy being found abandoned,” said an investigator.
It turned out that Raju had abandoned the boy after he got to know about the police keeping an eye on him.
