A 15-month-old boy who was abducted while playing outside his home in Dhanusha has been rescued safely after 11 days.
The child, Sidhant Mahato, was abducted while playing in front of his home in Tinkoriya, Bideha Municipality-6.
According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Khanal of the District Police Office, Dhanusha, the boy was rescued at around 3:30 p.m. on Monday from a location about 300 meters from his home.
According to police, Sidhant, the 15-month-old son of Kamlesh Mahato, suddenly disappeared at around 4:30 p.m. on September 3 while playing in the courtyard of his house.
A team from the Giddha Police Post was immediately deployed after the child went missing. Considering the seriousness of the incident, a team of 60 police personnel, including a trained sniffer dog, was mobilized under the command of SP Rupesh Khadka from the District Police Office and an intensive search operation was launched, DSP Khanal said.
The search was intensified by a joint investigation team led by DSP Khanal and Police Inspector Babindra Nembang of the Provincial Information Analysis and Investigation Team (PIAIT) of the Madhesh Province Police Office.
A woman was taken into custody following the child’s rescue. The arrested woman is Punita Devi Paswan, 41, of Hathletwa, Kamala Municipality-9, Dhanusha.
“During the investigation, it was found that Punita Devi had abducted the child and repeatedly moved him between different locations in Nepal and India, keeping him hidden,” Khanal said. “After police maintained round-the-clock surveillance at all border points and expanded the search through technical investigation, she fled after leaving the child by the roadside about 300 meters from his home.”
The child was immediately rescued after being found by the roadside and was taken for a medical examination. DSP Khanal said that the child was handed back to his parents as his health condition was normal.
Paswan, who was attempting to flee toward India after abandoning the child, was arrested at around 3:45 p.m. the same day from the Nepal-India border area (no-man’s land) in Mahinathpur, Bideha Municipality-1.
Police said that a case has been registered against Paswan on charges related to kidnapping, unlawful confinement, and human trafficking/transportation, and that further investigation was underway.
