Boy rescued; dismissed teacher-abductor arrested

Akshay, a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, who was abducted from an Anganwadi centre at Nagavarapalya in Baiyappanahalli police limits, has been rescued by police. He was handed over to his parents Ratna and Kumar.

The alleged abductor, Rudra Somachari, 43, a dismissed teacher, was arrested in Kanakapura Town, based on  the description provided by children and Anganwadi workers, besides his mobile phone call details.

The accused, according to police, had kidnapped Akshay after taking money from a childless man promising him to provide him a baby boy. Somachari, a primary school teacher, was dismissed 14 years ago for irregularity. He has been arrested twice by police for domestic violence. Somachari, who was living alone, used to teach in private schools on temporary basis.

During interrogation, Somachari revealed that he had recently met a retired high school teacher, Ramachandra from Raghvanahalli in Kanakapura, who was without issue.

Assured payment of Rs 50,000 for a child, Somachari, who was given an advance of Rs 2,000, was on the lookout for a baby boy.

After a search, he zeroed in on a child from an Anganwadi in Nagavarapalya, which he had visited a couple of times earlier.

The staff, who were convinced by Somachari that he is a relative of Akshay and was taking him out to buy chocolates, later realised he had escaped with the boy.

The Baiyappanahalli police, who swung into action, and provided with physical description of Somachari, besides being told he was a teacher, formed several teams visiting various schools in surrounding areas. 

An employee from one of the schools provided information about a man who had left his curriculum vitae and photo at the school, seeking a teaching job.

Following confirmation from anganwadi centre that he was the person, the police, on analysing call details of the mobile phone number provided by him in his resume found several calls made to Ramachandra. With the mobile network indicating that he was in Kanakapura, the police rushed to Ramachandra’s house and arrested Somachari who was with Akshay. He has been booked on charge of kidnap.

The jurisdictional court took him into custody. The police are contemplating action against Ramachandra too.

Bike-stealing student held

A 24-year-old student at a reputable college in the City has been arrested for stealing nine motorcycles worth Rs nine lakh.

Kashyung Chuyang, from Northeast and a resident of RT Nagar, would use duplicate keys to steal bikes parked near houses and in desolate places, the Malleswaram police said. He would later transport the stolen bikes to the Northeast and sell them off.
The suspect is believed to have told the police that he stole bikes to lead a luxurious life.

Police said they apprehended Chuyang after a series of bike thefts were reported. They examined the footage of CCTV cameras installed near the houses from where the bikes were reported stolen. They later zeroed in on Chuyang and apprehended him, police said.