Kollam: The accused in the case related to the kidnapping of a six-year-old girl from Oyoor planned to abduct other children as well, police said.
The probe team has found that the family was constantly monitoring children who travelled alone at different places. The information collected on the basis of their observations was recorded in a notebook. The notebook recovered by the investigation team is being examined further.
The notebook had details on the places visited by the children, time of visit and mode of transport used. The police are checking the areas visited by the accused and details of the targeted children. The CCTV footages of these areas will also be checked.
The investigation team is also examining whether the crime was committed to overcome the financial crisis as stated by the accused. As part of this, the investigation team is interrogating the accused individually and together. The investigation is led by Rural Crime Branch DySP M M Jose.
Accused remanded to custody
KR Padmakumar (51), his wife MR Anithakumari (39), and daughter P Anupama (21) of Kavithraraj House, Mampallikkunnam in Chathannoor, accused in the case of abducting a six-year-old girl from Ottumala in Oyoor, have been remanded in the custody of the Crime Branch for seven days.
The order was passed by the Kottarakkara 1st Class Magistrate S Suraj, considering the Crime Branch’s request for further interrogation of the three persons. The court also directed that the accused should be produced in court on December 14.
A detailed argument took place in the court on the custody application. Assistant Public Prosecutor Shaila Matthai, representing the prosecution, argued that it should be found out whether there are additional suspects in the case and whether the accused have connections to gangs that abduct children. Additionally, digital evidence, including a laptop, has been seized. The prosecutor emphasized that the results of the scientific examination of these pieces of evidence are crucial to the case, and seven days of custody are required.
Although advocate K Sugunan, representing Padmakumar, and K Aji Mathew, representing Anithakumari and Anupama, argued that the police had already collected the maximum evidence and their clients should not be remanded in custody for more than three days, the court did not accept it. The head of the investigation team, Crime Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police, MM Jose, was also present in the court.
The grounds raised for custody
- The investigation has to trace the location where the kidnapped child was kept and collect evidence from the spot.
- The fake number plate fixed on the car that was used for the crime needs to be recovered.
- The accused needs to be interrogated with the evidence collected from the car.
- It needs to be ascertained whether anyone else has assisted the accused and whether there are partners in the criminal conspiracy.
- It needs to be determined what the accused did with the bag that was with the child when she was kidnapped.
- The circumstances that led to the kidnap should be thoroughly investigated.
- The investigation also needs to be conducted to find the places where the accused went into hiding after abandoning the child on the ground.
