30 August,2011 07:31 AM IST | | Atul Krishan
The accused was tracked through calls he made from public booths
A youth was arrested in north-east Delhi on Monday, for kidnapping a three-year-old girl two days ago. The accused, identified as Sartaj, had asked the victim's parents to cough up Rs 1.25 lakh for her release.
Swift action: The victim with her parents
Police said Sartaj was unemployed and had come to live with his sister in Janata Colony, Welcome, near the victim's house. The girl went missing on Saturday and her father, Ikhtiyar, lodged an FIR, following which a police team was constituted to look into the matter.u00a0
The accused at Police Headquarters, in New Delhi on Monday. Pics/MiD Day
On Sunday, Ikhtiyar received a ransom call made from a public phone booth. At the same time, Sartaj received several calls on his mobile phone and police were able to zero in on the locality.
"As many as 60 personnel were deployed around 20 booths. Yesterday, one of our head constables spotted a suspicious person and arrested him. It turned out to be Sartaj," said a senior police officer.
During interrogation, the accused said he needed money to buy marijuana. "He knew the victim's father owned three auto-rickshaws, and assumed the family must be well-off," he said.
