Thiruvananthapuram: A six-year old girl was abducted from Kollam district in Kerala on Monday evening.
The girl, identified as Abigail Sara Reji, hailing from Oyoor near Pooyappally on the suburbs of Kollam, was abducted at around 4.30 pm.
The child's mother initially received a call by around 8 pm from an anonymous person demanding a ransom of Rs 5 lakh.
Later, a relative of the kid received another call demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh by 10 am on Tuesday. The caller, a woman, says that the child was safe. She also warned not to inform police and said that their 'boss' asked to return the kid by 10 am tomorrow.
The mobile phone used by the gang was found to be that of a shop at Parippally, about 15 kilometres from Pooyappally. The shopkeeper said that a couple pretending as husband and wife came in an autorickshaw.
They asked for his phone to make a call saying that they forgot to carry theirs. The woman moved away from the shop and made the call, while the man bought biscuits from the shop, the shopkeeper told the police.
Police are carrying out widespread search in the locality. Locals are also assisting the police.
The child's picture is being widely circulated on TV and social media. Police also recovered CCTV images of a car believed to have been used for kidnapping.
The girl's elder brother told the police that a gang of four, including a woman, abducted her while they were going for tuition. A person in a white car extended a piece of paper and asked us to give it their mother.
Then they pulled his sister to the car and drove away. Though he tried to resist, they dragged him for some distance and fled the spot, said the brother.
The police swung into action by checking all vehicles on all nearby roads.
The children had earlier told parents that they used to spot a white car near their house over the last few days.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan directed the police to ensure an effective investigation.
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