The Trombay police have registered a case of kidnapping against a 50-year-old man identified as Santosh Jadhav, who allegedly took away a five-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl under the pretext of buying them firecrackers and has not returned since. Both children are students.
According to the complaint filed by the children’s grandmother, who is the complainant in the case, Jadhav, a neighbour, lured the children out on the evening of October 15. She alleged that Jadhav, who had been living with another neighbour for the past 15 days, frequently visited their house and had developed a friendly rapport with her grandchildren.
On October 15, around 9:15 pm, Jadhav came to the complainant’s house and informed her that he was leaving for his native village. Before going, he offered to buy the children firecrackers and assured he would drop them back home immediately. However, after taking the children along, he did not return.
The grandmother searched for the children in the neighbourhood and also contacted relatives, but when they could not be traced, she approached the police.
An officer from Trombay police station confirmed that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC. A special police team has been formed and efforts are on to trace the two missing children.