New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) A seven-year-old boy who was kidnapped here has been rescued from Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr and his 46-year-old neighbour has been arrested in connection with the abduction, , police said on Tuesday.
Viresh allegedly abducted the boy from Nehru Vihar here on March 13 over personal rivalry with his family, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East) Joy Tirkey said.
The victim was reunited with his family within 72 hours of his abduction and the accused was arrested the same day, the DCP said.
On the day of the incident, the Dayalpur police station received a PCR call reporting the kidnapping of a boy from outside his house in Nehru Vihar, he said.
An FIR under the Indian Penal Code Section 363 (kidnapping) was registered and a police team was formed to rescue the child, the officer added.
"CCTV footage of the cameras installed in the vicinity was checked. The team later identified the suspect. The location of the suspect was traced to the Kalkatti Mandir, Sambhal on the Ganga river bank," said the DCP.
During the investigation, the police found that Viresh, who allegedly wanted to extort money from the victim's family, had taken him to a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr, the DCP said.
"CCTV footage of the cameras installed in the vicinity was checked. The team later identified the suspect. The location of the suspect was traced to the Kalkatti Mandir, Sambhal on the Ganga river bank," said the DCP.
The team searched dharamshalas and various temples in the area and announcements about the victim were also made from mosque and temples, he added.
Later, they traced the accused's location to Rajghat village in Uttar Pradesh, over 60 kilometres away from Sambhal and contacted the sarpanch, the officer said.
On March 16, based on a tipoff about the accused's movement, the police reached Sambhal railway station where on seeing the cops, Viresh left the child there and tried to flee. However, he was overpowered and nabbed by the police team, DCP Tirkey said.
The victim in his statement said the accused called his parents and demanded money and he also tried to drown him in Ganga, the officer said.
Based on the boy's statement, the Indian Penal Code Sections 364-A (kidnapping for ransom) and 307 (attempt to murder) were added to the case, he said.
Viresh confessed to the crime and disclosed that he has some issues with the boy's family members and kidnapped him to teach them a lesson, said the DCP, adding that further investigation is underway.