World | India
Kidnapped boy back home after getting 'a new life'
It was an emotional reunion as three-and-a-half-year-old Rohit Reddy returned to his parents, hours after being freed by his abductors.
- IANS
- Published: 23:53 September 6, 2007
Hyderabad: It was an emotional reunion as three-and-a-half-year-old Rohit Reddy returned to his parents, hours after being freed by his abductors.
The toddler went missing in Hyderabad on Tuesday evening but was found in Khammam district, about 200 km from the city. His parents, both IT professionals, rushed to Khammam on Wednesday night and returned home yesterday with Rohit secure in their arms.
At the Reddy home in Kondapur, in the Madhapur area near Hitec City, a large number of family members and well-wishers had assembled to welcome Rohit who, in the words of his parents, had received "a new life".
Rohit's father G. Ravinder Reddy, an assistant project manager with Cognizant Technologies, was thankful to the abductors for not harming his son.
"We were angry with you (abductors), but we thank you for releasing him without causing any harm," he said describing his relief to reporters in Khammam.
The abductors had left the boy at the house of Bhukia Lal in Tekulapalli on Wednesday evening.
Lal's wife said two people approached her stating that their car had blown a puncture and requested her to take care of the boy since he was running a high temperature.
Television images
"They said they would bring medicines for the boy but did not return. Our neighbours, who had seen images of the boy on television, recognised him and took him to a nearby police station," she said.
The police ensured Rohit received prompt medical attention and made him talk over the phone to his parents, who had been in a state of shock since the abduction on Tuesday evening.
With tears of joy rolling down her cheeks, Rohit's mother, Laalasa Reddy, gathered the sleeping child into her arms amid the frenzy of television crews milling around.
The abduction of the boy had evoked widespread sympathy, with his teachers among others offering prayers for his safe release.
The motive of the kidnappers is still not known. The family did not receive any ransom demand.
Two suspects, including a former Maoist, were arrested in Khammam district following the incident, but both were freed after investigations proved they were not involved.
Seven police teams were on the lookout for the abductors in Khammam and adjoining districts.
Rohit was kidnapped on Tuesday evening amid Janmashtami celebrations as he was playing with other children at a school near his house.
The children who were eye-witnesses to the incident, including Rohit's eight-year-old brother Praneet, said two unidentified people in a black scaled the compound wall of the school and, after befriending the child, led him away.
Rohit's mother had appealed to the kidnappers saying he was prone to convulsions during the hot months.
Second case involving IT industry in the city
Rohit's case was the second kidnapping incident to hit the IT industry in Hyderabad. Earlier, an executive of Satyam Computers was kidnapped for ransom in Secunderabad as he left his house to take his children to school. The police rescued him in Warangal district. It later emerged that the kidnap plan had been hatched by his chauffeur in collusion with some criminals. More than 150,000 people are employed in IT firms in and around Hyderabad, which rivals Bangalore as a major IT hub in the country.
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