The Jalandhar police have arrested Rajat Rattu alias Rocky, a resident of Madara village, in connection with the kidnapping of 4-year-old Keshav from Pannu Vihar and police said Rocky was the mastermind of the kidnapping and had allegedly planned to sell the child to a childless couple for ₹1 lakh.
According to police, Rocky is a driver by profession and is addicted to drugs, and during interrogation, he allegedly told police that the couple wanted to adopt a good-looking child.
A deal was finalised for ₹1 lakh, of which Rocky had already received ₹20,000 as an advance.
Police said the accused used the advance money to purchase narcotic pills and Rocky and his accomplice, identified as Prince, had reportedly been looking for a child since September 14.
On September 17, the accused allegedly spotted Keshav while he was playing with other children in Pannu Vihar and police said Keshav was selected because the accused considered him the best-looking child among those present.
According to the investigation, Prince abducted the child while Rocky was involved in the plan and the accused allegedly bought chocolates and chips for Keshav so that he would not cry during the journey. They also changed his clothes in an attempt to conceal his identity, however, the accused abandoned the child later that night after becoming afraid of being caught.
Police said the accused saw photographs related to the kidnapping circulating on news websites and also noticed the police blockade and heightened checking across the area, so fearing arrest, they abandoned Keshav at a bus stand around 11 pm on September 17 and fled
The police later traced and recovered the child.
The police investigation involved checking around 650 CCTV cameras.
On the day of the kidnapping, police initially examined nearly 400 cameras on the route between Pannu Vihar and Ramamandi and the trail of the scooty used by the accused was lost after it entered the Ramamandi area.
Police initially suspected that the accused might have escaped towards Ludhiana, but CCTV footage from that route did not support the possibility and investigators then examined CCTV footage from inner lanes of Ramamandi and found that the accused had moved towards Hoshiarpur Road.
The search continued up to Adampur, but the scooty was not found there.
The investigation subsequently shifted towards Jandusingha and Madara village.
Police scanned more than 250 additional CCTV cameras between Ramamandi and Madara. Footage eventually showed the suspected scooty and the accused and when the images were shown to local residents, the man was identified as Rocky.
Police also analysed mobile tower dump data, which they said confirmed Rocky's presence near the crime scene at the time of the kidnapping.
Police raided Madara village at around 5 am on Monday and arrested Rocky and the scooty allegedly used in the crime and the clothes used during the kidnapping were also recovered.
Rocky was produced before a court and sent to police custody until September 24 and the police are continuing raids to locate Prince, who remains absconding.
DCP Jalandhar Aditya Warrior said the police had gone on high alert immediately after receiving information about the kidnapping, and according to him, the blockades and heightened police vigilance put pressure on the accused, leading them to abandon Keshav the same night.
The investigation into the kidnapping and the role of the second accused is ongoing.
