Kidnapping: Day after, cops clueless

Aman Sood

Patiala, October 25

Twenty-four hours after a six-year-old boy was allegedly kidnapped by unknown bike-borne youths while he was playing outside his house in the Manjit Nagar area here, the Patiala police are still clueless. With no ransom call having been received by the family, the police are now relying on the CCTV footage of nearby areas to get a clue about the kidnappers, who are believed to be youngsters.

The police have identified the boy as Hartejibir Buttar, whose father JS Buttar is in the Legal Department and is deputed in the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, as a lecturer. The police are conducting a search operation in houses surrounding the victim’s house. The police have grilled a few suspects, including some domestic helps who worked in the loacility in the past few months. 

A painter, who works as a daily wager and had worked in a nearby house, was also questioned.   The police are relying on the CCTV footage available from near the area in which two bikes can be seen minutes before the kidnapping took place around 6 pm. “The alleged kidnappers were seen again in the area, which has confused the police. Prima facie it appears that four or five boys, in their early 20s, are involved in the crime,” said a police officer investigating the matter. “The suspects look like villagers, one of whom has a ‘migrant look’,” they said.

Patiala SSP Gurmeet Chauhan, along with officers, camped at the crime scene till the wee hours of Tuesday, but remained clueless. The police are probing various theories. “Youths on two bikes were waiting in the vicinity when the boy was playing in the lane. Suddenly, a pillion rider on a bike picked up the boy and vanished from the scene even as the boy’s playmates raised the alarm. It took around 15 minutes for everyone to realise what had happened,” said the police.

Social media sites were flooded with pictures of the alleged kidnappers taken from nearby CCTV cameras. Later in the afternoon, the police conducted a thorough search of dhabas, roadside eateries, abandoned buildings in the city and nearby roads leading to villages.  “We are working on several theories and there is not much to share at this point of time,” said the SSP.