The railway police foiled an attempted kidnapping by a Bihari couple of their neighbour's children, rescuing a six-year-old girl and an eight-month-old boy on Tuesday.
Railway police arrested Balaram and Pramiladevi, both daily wage labourers, from the Yeshwantpur railway station around 10 pm on Tuesday, near the goods rail track. The couple was allegedly preparing to board a goods train bound for Bihar.
The railway police noticed the children crying and became suspicious since the couple was near the goods rail track with them. The kidnapping plan was uncovered when they questioned the couple.
Meanwhile, parents of the abducted children had lodged a missing complaint at the Kodigehalli police station. The railway police promptly contacted the parents and successfully reunited them with their children.
An investigating officer told DH that the couple, who really wanted to be parents, hatched the abduction plan as Pramiladevi was unable to conceive after a miscarriage. She grew very fond of the neighbour's children and often picked them up to chat and play with them.
The officer said: “On Tuesday morning, when their neighbours were out on work, the couple saw the children playing outside. Deceiving them with chocolates, they took them along to the railway station.”
The couple had been residing in Bengaluru for the past three years, working as construction laborers on the outskirts of the city. They had relocated to Kodigehalli six months ago.
The children's parents, also daily wage earners, used to leave their eight-month-old baby with the six-year-old daughter while they worked from morning to evening.
The couple observed this routine and devised a plan to kidnap the children, police said.
Published 13 December 2023, 21:32 IST