A six-year-old girl was abducted from Pooyappally in southern Kerala one day ago; her whereabouts are still unknown.
The police have not been able to locate the child despite their increased efforts.
On Tuesday, a police officer stated that every possibility is being considered in order to find the missing child.
The police have also released a sketch of a person they believe to be a kidnapper.
According to the boy’s statement to police, the girl and her eight-year-old brother were abducted while she was attending tuition classes by a group of four people, suspected to include a woman. The kidnappers arrived in a white car. The girl was taken away in the car by the abductors, who shoved the boy away when he attempted to stop them, according to a Pooyappally police station officer on Monday.
According to the police, the victim’s brother hurt his knees trying to save his sister. The police claim that the incident happened on Monday between 4 and 4.30 p.m.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan ordered the state police to step up their investigation on Monday as worries about the abducted child increased.
Also read: Six-person rescue team from rat-hole mining dispatched after the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse
According to a statement from his office, he had instructed the state police chief to make sure the incident was thoroughly and promptly investigated. Additionally, Vijayan had stated that authorities are actively looking for the girl and asked people to refrain from disseminating untrue accounts of the incident. Images displayed on TV news channels purport to show two calls for ransom that the kidnappers made.
They asked for ₹5 lakh at first and then doubled that amount. The kidnappers were heard claiming that the girl was safe and unharmed and would be returned on Tuesday morning following the payment of ₹10 lakh in the audio recording of the alleged second ransom call that was broadcast on TV channels.
Also read: Six-person rescue team from rat-hole mining dispatched after the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse
The parents had also been warned by the kidnappers not to call the police. Before that, a few hours after the kidnapping, the parents received a call demanding ₹5 lakh as ransom.
The search for the girl has been stepped up by the police, who are inspecting cars on all major and minor roads in the southern districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, and Kollam.
Images displayed police officers examining cars on the roads, particularly those with white paint jobs. The children’s parents work as nurses in two different private hospitals.
