Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

Abductors on the doorstep

By S. Shivakumar

To face a situation where their children get kidnapped is the ultimate horror for any parent. But, several families have had to live through the terrifying experience. They find that the diabolical kidnap plot has been hatched by none other than their housemaids or drivers whose antecedents they did not check.

A one-month-old child of a junior artist was kidnapped by a housemaid at Virugambakkam after serving tea mixed with sleeping pills to the baby's mother. The family was shocked to learn that the housemaid, Chandra, engaged by them a few days earlier had a criminal record.

She was once arrested in connection with a 100-sovereign jewellery theft at Thousand Lights. Chandra escaped with the jewellery after working as a housemaid in the house for a few days.

There have been several incidents in the past when those employed as drivers, housemaids and cooks have been involved in crime incidents. The most shocking was that of Sriram, a young schoolboy, son of a senior executive in a private firm, who was kidnapped and killed for ransom. The accused who were later arrested included the car driver who dropped Sriram to school everyday. The desperados killed the boy and then collected the ransom. "Killing the victims or abandoning them if they are young is common in cases when the accused is known. The child will identify the culprit later and this leads to his end", points out a police officer.

This theory is supported by the experience in the kidnapping of a two-and-half-year-old boy, Kiran, son of a fast food joint owner at Sembium. Kiran was kidnapped by Rajesh Khanna, working as a manager in the shop. He demanded a ransom of Rs. 2 lakhs. However, when the police traced the call and trapped Rajesh Khanna in Vellore, the boy was not with him. The culprit had abandoned the boy at Agra near the Taj Mahal and escaped. The boy who was found by a guide-cum-photographer informed the local police and took him home.

When the local police contacted Agra police, the latter passed on the information. When the city police team reached Agra, it was confirmed that the child was Kiran and it was a happy reunion bringing to an end the 20-day ordeal for the child.

Even in this case, the accused had a criminal past. He murdered his classmate as a 16-year-old boy when he was in school at Thanjavur. He escaped from a correction home. He later married a girl at Tirupathi and attempted to murder her. He also duped another woman.

Rajesh Khanna is presently serving a sentence in the Chitoor prison in connection with an attempt to murder case. The charge sheet has already been filed in the Kiran kidnapping case.

"As Rajesh Khanna had a liking for the child, he did not have the heart to harm the baby. However, had the baby been taken away by some family without informing the police, it is hard to imagine if the baby could have been traced in a place where thousands of tourists visit everyday," said a police officer.

This is rare but there have been cases when the accused develop an affection and do not harm the child. A 15-month-old child, kidnapped by a two-member gang including a driver and rescued by the police after an eight-hour drama, was found crying to play with the accused driver at the police station.

The car driver absconded with the child while returning from a nearby relative's house. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs. 20 lakhs. However, police tracked down the child based on a telephone call and rescued it amidst high drama.

Apart from child kidnapping cases, there have been several cases when housemaids have been part of criminal gangs.

These women, who work in posh houses, pass on information about the inmates to the criminals, who will strike at an appropriate moment. There have been even murders for gain cases, based on information provided by the housemaids.

Though the city police keep advising and warning the residents not to appoint anyone without proper verification as drivers or housemaids, they have not provided any provision for checking the antecedents of these people.

It is bound to be a difficult task for the police but with such huge sums being spent on modernisation schemes, the police could find out a way to set up a special cell, affected victims point out.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Pipeline burst hits traffic
• Abductors on the doorstep
• Exam cancelled, question paper leak suspected

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu