Delhi: 53-year-old man arrested for kidnapping 4-year-old child

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A 53-year-old man was reportedly arrested in Delhi for allegedly kidnapping a child to sell him or make him beg, the police officials said on Monday, reported the PTI.

The police said that the accused was nabbed while he was trying to flee from the Old Delhi railway station to Meerut, and added the four-year-old child was rescued.

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"On Friday at 3 pm, a PCR call was received at Kotwali police station regarding the kidnapping of a four-year-old child. Complainant Ruksana told police she was sleeping on the footpath near the parade ground, close to the Red Fort. When she woke up in the morning, her son was missing," DCP (north) M K Meena said, as per the PTI.

"The team immediately checked about 370 CCTV cameras around the crime scene and found that a man was seen roaming around the parade ground parking lot where the woman was sleeping. Due to the darkness, nothing was clear. The team continuously followed the suspect using CCTV cameras," said the DCP, the news agency reported on Monday.

According to the police, the person was seen going towards the Jama Masjid with the kidnapped child, wearing a cap and a mask to hide his face. The team continued to track the person through CCTV footage.

"The man then went to the New Delhi railway station and disappeared. A clear footage of the person at the New Delhi railway station was obtained. On Saturday, an information revealed the person was currently near the Old Delhi railway station with the kidnapped child and was planning to catch a train. He was apprehended and the child was recovered," said the DCP, according to the PTI.

The police said the accused identified himself as Sekhu, a resident of Shamli in Uttar Pradesh and currently living as a vagabond at the Gandhi Park area.

The accused disclosed he had returned from the Muzaffarnagar jail after serving a seven-year sentence for a murder case involving his sister-in-law. His wife left him and went to her parents' home in Roorkee with their two children, said the DCP.

Police further said he got addicted to drugs and came to Delhi, where he started begging and stealing to make a living.

"He also said that his elder son died after being hit by a train leading him to consume more drugs. He thought of kidnapping the child, intending to sell him or use him for begging. The recovered minor child was shifted to a child home for further necessary action," DCP Meena said.

(with PTI inputs)