A five-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped by an unidentified woman from the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara on Sunday.
According to police, mother of the boy, Swathi, ekes out her living by applying ‘tilakam’ to the visiting pilgrims. Everyday, she makes the boy sit at a particular place in front of the main temple complex and goes about her work. Her husband Venkataramana works at a local eatery. The family hails from Damineedu in Tirupati.
On Sunday, the woman, on her return from work, found the boy missing. She and her husband searched for the boy, but in vain. They lodged a complaint with the local police.
In a swift action, the police scanned the CCTV footage and found a woman carrying the boy. She was boarding an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bound to Tirupati. The footage also confirmed that the woman visited the Govindaraja Swamy temple and the Vishnu Nivasam on Sunday morning, from where the boy went missing.
The police have launched a search for the woman and the boy.
