Man accused of kidnapping girl arrested

DHENKANAL: A man accused of kidnapping a three-year-old girl from Dhenkanal town was arrested from Rengali in Angul district late on Friday evening.

The accused Ranjan Sahoo, a native of Jajpur district, had been staying in Rengali for the last few years. He had demanded a ransom of Rs 2 lakh from the child's parents.

Dhenkanal Town IIC Prabhat Sahoo said one Premalata Rana (30) lodged a complaint saying her child was abducted from her house on Friday. Premalata hails from Badamba in Cuttack and works daily as a bet in Dhenkanal town.

The IIC said Ranjan called Premalata's neighbors and demanded the ransom. He claimed to have sold the child to a man in Cuttack who threatened to kill her if he did not pay the ransom. The police located the accused's mobile phone and were able to trace him to Rengali.

“I immediately alerted the IIC of Rengali and provided them with details of the whereabouts of the accused. I also asked him to rush to the spot immediately and catch the culprit. Accordingly, Rengali police went to the spot, rescued the child and nabbed Sahoo. “The child was handed over to his parents on Saturday,” the IIC said.