Goa Police solves child-kidnapping case in 24 hours, earns kudos from CM

Police in Goa claimed to have cracked a child-kidnapping case within 24 hours after a one-month old boy was allegedly kidnapped from the state's top government hospital, the Goa Medical College near Panaji late on Friday. The child is reportedly safe and the accused person has been arrested from a North Goa village, police said.

A joint police task force had launched a massive manhunt to trace the alleged kidnapper, a middle-aged woman, who was seen with the child at various locations in North Goa on footage of CCTV cameras along the route. The police action followed a complaint filed by the mother of the child who hails from Odisha, shortly after the child went missing from the hospital premises.

Police on Saturday claimed that the child is safe and the alleged kidnapper had been arrested from Saleli village in North Goa district.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant tweeted congratulations to the Goa Police for the prompt arrest.

"I congratulate Goa Police for successfully leading one of the biggest manhunts in the State and safely rescuing a 1 month old child within 24hrs. Safety & security of the citizens is the top priority of our Government," the Chief Minister tweeted.

Earlier on Saturday, the leader of opposition Digambar Kamat and Health Minister Vishwajit Rane were involved in a slanging match over the kidnapping, with Kamat alleging that the kidnapping of a young child proved that there was a law and order breakdown in the state.

"Shocked to hear about the kidnapping of a one month old boy from Goa Medical College Hospital. Once again it is proved that even hospitals are not safe in Goa. Law and order situation is at an all time low under the BJP government," Kamat, a former Chief Minister had said.

Rane responded by calling Kamat's allegations baseless.

"I would like to bring to attention that the kidnapping incident reported at the GMC has been incorrectly reported. The child was neither a patient at GMC, nor does it have anything to do with a security lapse. It is a baseless allegation and the facts of the incident are totally different," the Health Minister had tweeted in response.