The case relating to the kidnapping of a nine-month-old boy, Chennakesava, at Tirumala ended on a blissful note with the kidnappers surrendering before the police.
Reportedly terrified at the massive manhunt launched by the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu police in addition to the wide publicity given by the media, the alleged kidnappers surrendered at the Belukuruchi police station, Sendamangalam taluk, Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu, on Friday.
The accused were identified as Ashok (24), resident of West street, Singalanthapuram village under the Belukuruchi police station limits, and Thangayee (24) also from the same village. The duo reportedly confessed to having resorted to abduction for want of a child. Initial reports suggested the duo to be in a relationship.
According to the police, the duo kidnapped the infant on June 14 when he was asleep along with his parents at the open space in front of the main temple complex at Tirumala. Even though the police immediately swung into action and formed 10 special teams to nab the culprits, they could not achieve any breakthorough as the images released by them were of poor quality.
It is at this stage, Vijaya Rao, who took over as the new SP of Tirupati (Urban), ordered for examining of video footages relating to the preceding days of the incident. The exercise paid them off well in the form of distinct images of the alleged kidnappers. The police immediately released the wall posters of both the accused and also alerted their counterparts in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka besides uploading them on various social networking sites.
The police also have been asked to undertake a thorough medical check-up of the infant at the nearest hospital. Meanwhile, parents of the child Venkatesh and Ratnamma, natives of Saipuram village in Anantapur district, are eagerly awaiting reunion with their child.
