Odisha Police rescues abducted toddler of PwD woman

The cops also arrested the accused kidnapper and detained another woman in the case.

Talking to media persons, the Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said that the child of a visually impaired woman has been rescued and the toddler will be handed over to the mother.

"The accused involved in the abduction has also been arrested. The abduction of a poor, visually impaired woman's son has shocked everyone. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed the police to rescue the child at the earliest and bring the accused persons under the purview of the law. The Chief Minister's Office also allowed the cops to seek any help required to rescue the abducted child," said Singh.

He added that the rescue operation was a difficult one due to the paucity of clues, and it was also suspected that the toddler could be trafficked outside.

He said that they constituted four teams to rescue the toddler and nab the accused kidnappers, adding that the child was rescued from another woman in the Khantapada area of Balasore district on Monday night after a successful and articulated operation by the cops.

"Later, a team of Commissionerate police arrested the accused kidnapper Kedarsan Panda from Puri. The woman, Jhelam Rani Panda, from whom the toddler was rescued, is being interrogated to ascertain whether she had taken the child to adopt or to sell him," he said.

He added that Jhelam has two daughters and one son (9-year-old), and her son is reportedly suffering from a serious illness.

"She claimed during interrogation that she wanted to adopt an orphan child as she believed that due to the noble work and blessings, her son would get cured. Her claim is under verification and her role in the case is under investigation," said Singh.

He added that the police also found out that the accused kidnapper is involved in three bike theft cases in Bhubaneswar and in Jajpur district.

Singh said that the accused Kedarsan used to work in Bengaluru as a delivery boy in Zomato and Swiggy, adding that the husband of the Jhelam also worked as a security guard in Bengaluru.

"One month back, Kedarsan developed an acquaintance with Jhelam from there over the phone, and later Kedarsan met her after coming back to Odisha," he said.

He added that Janati Mallick alias Laxmi, a visually challenged woman, along with her seven-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, resides in a Kanyaashram at Niladri Vihar in Chandrasekharpur area of Bhubaneswar.

"She used to meet her ends by begging before the Ram Mandir in Unit-III area of the city. On April 12, she could not return to the Kanyaashram due to heavy rain in the evening and slept before the temple. The accused Kedarsan reached there and played with the children and later kidnapped the toddler," Singh said.