A seven-year-old girl, Surada Deepti Sree, was reportedly kidnapped from her school in the town on Friday. Police formed special teams and are searching for the girl.
Deepti Sree, daughter of Shyam Prasad, was studying second standard in Netaji Municipal Corporation School, Jagannadhapuram, in the town. He was a technician.
Mr. Prasad married one Satyaveni a few years ago and the couple was blessed with a girl. Two years ago, Satyaveni died due to ill-health, and Prasad married Santha Kumari, and the couple had a boy who is one-year-old now.
Around 1.30 p.m. a woman with her face covered with a scarf picked up the girl while she was playing in the school on Friday. The woman, along with another person, took the child away on a bike. Following a complaint, the Kakinada Town police registered a case.
Suspecting the role of stepmother Santha Kumari, police reportedly took her into custody and are questioning her. Deepti Sree’s grandmother S. Baby alleged that Santha Kumari resorted to the crime.
“We are making efforts to trace the girl and sniffer dog teams have been pressed into service. Suspecting that the accused might have abandoned or killed the girl, expert swimmers have been searching for the girl at different spots including Upputuru,” police sources said.
Police, who verified the CCTV footage at the school and on the main road, identified that a woman, covering her face with a ‘chunni’, kidnapped Deepti Sree. Officers are investigating the case through call data of the mobile phone of the suspects.
Meanwhile, family members express fear over the safety of the girl as she has been missing for the last two days.
