Accused sent to police remand

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 30

The local court has sent Raju (35), who was arrested for kidnapping children and using them for begging, in four days’ police remand.

The Focal Point police had arrested Raju yesterday and four children were rescued from him.

One of the boys identified as Rohit (12), who was admitted to the civil hospital for treatment for foot injury reportedly told the police that Raju had injured his foot a few days ago and forced him into begging.

“He told me that if I limp, I would get more money,” said Rohit, adding that Raju used to tell children to make miserable faces while begging.

Rohit, who sustained cuts on his foot, told the police that when he got infected, Raju panicked and left him in the civil hospital.

Sources said SMO PS Sidhu, who was on a round of the civil hospital, spotted Rohit and got suspected on the nature of his injury.

Rohit was missing for over a month. Today the police found Rohit’s parents, who live near Peepal Chowk on 33 Foota Road. The child was handed over to the parents.

Rohit said Raju used to offer liquor to children and was making them addicts.

In police custody, Raju reportedly confessed to have kidnapped 20 children in the past four years. He said he used all of them for begging. Each boy used to earn nearly Rs 250 per day. He said all kidnapped children belonged to poor families and that he knew that poor parents would not have the resources and time to pursue the case of their missing children.

He reportedly told the police that as children grew older they used to escape from his custody.

The matter came to light after an 11-year-old child, Sourav, managed to escape from Raju’s possession and narrated the whole story to his parents.

Mukesh Kumar, in charge of Sherpur police post, said: “Sourav went missing on June 17 and his parents lodged a missing complaint with the Focal Point police station on June 22. His parents and our team tried to search the children. We got a tip-off that someone drugged Sourav and kidnapped him.”

A few days ago, Sourav’s parents found him at the railway station. On the information provided by Sourav, the police conducted a raid at the railway station and rescued the children from Raju’s clutches.