The Kamakhyanagar Police on Monday arrested two persons, including a woman, for allegedly stealing a nine-month-old child from his parents in Jiridimali village under Kanapura Gram Panchayat in Dhenkanal district.
The accused have been identified as Buchu alias Nalini Maharana from the same village and Tuku alias Mirza Moiuddin Baig from Mundideuli Sahi in Kamakhyanagar.
As per reports, Buchu allegedly stole the baby boy while his father, Ajay Pradhan was sleeping in his house on Sunday afternoon. The child’s mother Sabi Pradhan was away for work when the incident took place.
After stealing the child the accused allegedly escaped to a jungle in the vicinity of the village.
As per the FIR lodged by Sabi at the Kamakhyanagar police station, Buchu sold the child to Tuku for monetary gains. Following the complaint lodged by the victim’s mother, the police rounded up Buchu, and later Tuku, leading to the recovery of the child.
Meanwhile, Buchu told reporters that she was innocent. “Sabi is lying. I never stole the child. In fact, I was the one who found the child and returned him to his parents.”
Meanwhile the Sarpanch of Kanapura GP, Chitta Ranjan Sethi demanded stern action against the perpetrators. “I came to know about the incident on Sunday. I thank God that the child was found unharmed. The government should set an example by punishing the accused severely so that such incidents never happen again,” Sethi said.