Palakkad: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Saturday confirmed that the police nabbed the key accused in the Kollam child abduction case from Tamil Nadu's Thenkasi on Saturday. He congratulated the probe team for tracing the real culprits behind the crime within a short period. He was addressing the media at the venue of Nava Kerala Sadas in Palakkad's Kottamaidan.
He criticised the Youth Congress for staging a protest in front of the Pooyappally police station in Kollam alleging lapses in the investigation. He also slammed opposition leader V D Satheesan for raising suspicion in the probe.
The Chief Minister pointed out major cases including the Aluva child rape and murder case, Elanthoor murders and Kozhikode train arson case which were solved by the efficient teams of Kerala police.
“ I don't think the police made any lapses in the investigation. As police intensified the surveillance across the state, the abductors failed to flee with the child. But there were attempts to blame the police over the case,” said the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, Pooyappally police recorded the arrest of three people- Padmakumar (52), his wife Anitha (45) and daughter Anupama (20) over the abduction case. Reports say that Anupama is a social media influencer.
Manorama News reported that the probe team interrogated the trio for over 10 hours after nabbing them from a restaurant at Thenkasi in Tamil Nadu. Police also seized two cars of Padmakumar that were reportedly used for abducting the child.
The gang abducted the girl from Kollam's Oyoor on November 27 when she was on the way to a tuition centre along with her brother. Later, they phoned the girl's family demanding Rs 10 lakh as ransom to release the child. Around 20 hours after the abduction, some people found the child abandoned near Ashramam Maidan in Kollam on November 28.
