Woman kidnaps 3-year-old girl in Tirupur, held

 According to the police, Sudalai Raja (24), a carpenter from Arasangadu near Palladam, and his wife Selvi, were living separated after a domestic dispute. They had also left their three-year-old daughter in an orphanage.

On January 23, Sudalai Raja’s father Mariappan had taken his granddaughter along to the temple in Palani. On his return the next day, he brought along a woman with him to work as a domestic help by staying in the house, the police said. “Sudalai Raja had gone out of station for work, and Mariappan was asleep at night when the woman left the house with the child,” the police added.

A woman from the neighbourhood, who noticed a stranger kidnapping the child, however, immediately informed Mariappan. After a futile search, a missing complaint was lodged at the Palladam police station.

On the instructions of the Tirupur Superintendent of Police Disha Mittal, three special teams were formed to trace the child and nab the abductor.

The special teams of police then fanned out over Palani, Dindigul, Erode, Coimbatore and Tirupur districts in search of the child.

Pamphlets citing the child having gone missing were also distributed in public places like bus stands and railway stations.

It was in the meanwhile that the police received a tip-off that a woman was waiting for the bus with a child at Erode terminus. Acting on the information, the special police team rushed to the spot and caught her while the child was secured.

The police identified the accused as J Malliga alias Alphonsa Mary (24), a native of Kullampatty in Salem district.

Upon rescue, the police handed over the child back to her parents. Further investigations are on.