A 48-year-old man, who allegedly sold his illegitimate newborn son to a relative for Rs 70,000, has been arrested for kidnapping a three-year-old child of migrant workers and trying to sell him.
Vidyaranyapura police arrested Srirampuram resident Karna on March 8, over a week after the alleged kidnap.
Karna teamed up with a juvenile relative to kidnap the son of Lakshmi and Basavaraju, daily wage workers from North Karnataka, a police officer said. On February 29, the couple had left the youngest of their children with his paternal grandmother in Hosabala Nagar, North Bengaluru, and went to work.
The boy went out to play but didn’t return. He was last seen around 10.30 am. The parents filed a kidnap complaint with the police. Investigators acted swiftly and rescued the child two days later from Devaiah Park, Malleswaram, where he was found alone.
An eyewitness told the police that a middle-aged man was seen with the boy, looking for someone. But he later left in a hurry. Following the eyewitness account, police started a hunt for Karna and nabbed him on Sunday.
Police investigation revealed that Karna’s actions were motivated by greed. He has four children from his wife and fathered a fifth kid out of wedlock last year. The mother left Bengaluru after childbirth, leaving the newborn with Karna.
Unwilling to take responsibility for the children, Karna decided to sell it to a relative who didn’t kids even after 13 years of marriage. He was paid Rs 70,000. Recent financial difficulties, however, prompted him to kidnap a child and sell it for money.