A couple from Tamil Nadu was detained in Chirayinkeezhu on Thursday for allegedly abducting a four-month-old child from Nagercoil. According to the police, the accused, Narayanan and Santhi from Nagercoil, were handed over to the Tamil Nadu police after their crime came to light.
They purportedly kidnapped the child of a nomadic couple from a railway station on Monday while the parents were sleeping. The Tamil Nadu police recovered CCTV footage that apparently showed the alleged abductors entering the Ernad Express. Convinced they were headed for Kerala, the Tamil Nadu police alerted their counterparts in the State and also forwarded the visuals of the alleged crime.
The Chirayinkeezhu police took them into custody from the Chirayinkeezhu railway station after finding them with the child under suspicious circumstances. The couple are known to have been residing in Chirayinkeezhu for some years. They used to repair umbrellas for a living, the police said.