The Government Railway Police (GRP) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), probing the child kidnap case, suspect that an organised child trafficking gang might have abducted Shaik Hanifa (3), from the railway station here.
A contract sweeper in South Central Railway (SCR), A. Lakshmi, allegedly kidnapped Hanifa from platform number 10, while she was playing with her sister, on June 8. She allegedly handed over the girl to M. Padmaja and K. Vijayalakshmi of Gudivada on the same day.
The police, who scanned the CCTV footages in the railway station, One Town area, other junctions and main roads, identified Padmaja and Vijayalakshmi, natives of Gudivada in Krishna district, and rescued the girl on Tuesday, said Additional Director General (ADG-Railways) Kumar Viswajeet.
“Lakshmi planned the kidnap 10 days ago and alerted Vijayalakshmi and Padmaja, stating that a child was available in the railway station. After kidnapping Hanifa, she reportedly handed over the girl to the duo after taking ₹25,000,” said Mr. Viswajeet.
Vijayalakshmi and Padmaja allegedly struck a deal for ₹2 lakh to hand over the girl to Chandana Padma, native of Tangellapalli village, Sircilla district in Telangana.
Resale of girl planned
“We suspect that Chandana Padma planned to resale the girl. Police rounded up the accused while they were handing over the girl and taking the amount on the outskirts of Vijayawada,” Mr. Viswajeet said.
During investigation, it was revealed that the accused took the girl to Gudivada in an autorickshaw and kept her in Padmaja’s house for five days. They reportedly befriended Hanifa and offered chocolates and snacks to her.
“An organised gang is suspected to have involved in the racket. The police will file petition in court and take the accused into custody for questioning. The GRP will inquire on the links between Lakshmi and the two women of Gudivada and how Chandana Padma came into contact with the other gang members,” he said.
“We are investigating whether the sweeper resorted to any kidnappings earlier, the activities of other kidnappers and any other accused were involved in the racket,” Mr. Viswajeet said.
