Cops crack infant boy’s kidnapping case, arrest bike thief | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: Two days after the 19-month-old son of a visually impaired woman was allegedly kidnapped near the Ram Mandir, city police on Tuesday cracked the case by arresting a serial bike thief, Kedarsan Panda (27), for the crime. Police also detained Kedarsan’s associate, Jhelam Rani Panda (35), from whose house in Balasore district the toddler was rescued and later reunited with his mother.
Jhelam’s nine-year-old son has kidney ailment, raising questions about the motive behind the kidnapping. The child’s mother, Jayanti Mallick (25), who seeks alms near the temple, lodged a complaint at Kharavel Nagar police station on Sunday, alleging that while sleeping outside the shrine with her seven-year-old daughter and son, a stranger (Kedarsan) offered juice to them around 3 am. Subsequently, he took away her son by taking advantage of her blindness. “Kedarsan told us he had abducted the infant from Jayanti’s lap and handed him over to Jhelam who wished to adopt a child, in a bid to gain her favour,” said commissioner of police S Dev Datta Singh.
Jhelam told investigators that an astrologer advised her that caring for another child would help cure her son’s kidney disease. She shared her desire with Kedarsan, who promised to help her adopt an orphaned child.
Kedarsan, from Jajpur district, devised a scheme to kidnap the visually impaired woman’s child to please Jhelam. He video-called Jhelam near the Ram Temple, showing her the infant while falsely claiming he was an orphan. “Previously arrested for three bicycle thefts in 2023 in Bhubaneswar’s Pahala area and in Jajpur district, Kedarsan travelled by train to Balasore to deliver the infant to Jhelam,” the CP said.
Police authorities examined over 350 CCTV cameras across Bhubaneswar, Balasore and Bhadrak during the investigation. Kedarsan, formerly employed as a food delivery worker in Bengaluru, met Jhelam through her husband, a security guard.
CM Mohan Charan Majhi expressed satisfaction at the child’s reunion with his mother. Majhi stated that the news brought him peace of mind. “I am very happy to see the smile on the face of the mother on finding her baby boy. The steps taken by the police towards providing speedy justice to a poor, helpless woman, are certainly commendable. Our govt always works closer to the people to solve all their problems. Every citizen of Odisha, especially the poor and helpless who have no one to help them, has the govt system at their disposal at all times. Solving their problems is our top priority,” read Majhi’s X post.
Jhelam’s nine-year-old son has kidney ailment, raising questions about the motive behind the kidnapping. The child’s mother, Jayanti Mallick (25), who seeks alms near the temple, lodged a complaint at Kharavel Nagar police station on Sunday, alleging that while sleeping outside the shrine with her seven-year-old daughter and son, a stranger (Kedarsan) offered juice to them around 3 am. Subsequently, he took away her son by taking advantage of her blindness. “Kedarsan told us he had abducted the infant from Jayanti’s lap and handed him over to Jhelam who wished to adopt a child, in a bid to gain her favour,” said commissioner of police S Dev Datta Singh.
Jhelam told investigators that an astrologer advised her that caring for another child would help cure her son’s kidney disease. She shared her desire with Kedarsan, who promised to help her adopt an orphaned child.
Kedarsan, from Jajpur district, devised a scheme to kidnap the visually impaired woman’s child to please Jhelam. He video-called Jhelam near the Ram Temple, showing her the infant while falsely claiming he was an orphan. “Previously arrested for three bicycle thefts in 2023 in Bhubaneswar’s Pahala area and in Jajpur district, Kedarsan travelled by train to Balasore to deliver the infant to Jhelam,” the CP said.
Police authorities examined over 350 CCTV cameras across Bhubaneswar, Balasore and Bhadrak during the investigation. Kedarsan, formerly employed as a food delivery worker in Bengaluru, met Jhelam through her husband, a security guard.
CM Mohan Charan Majhi expressed satisfaction at the child’s reunion with his mother. Majhi stated that the news brought him peace of mind. “I am very happy to see the smile on the face of the mother on finding her baby boy. The steps taken by the police towards providing speedy justice to a poor, helpless woman, are certainly commendable. Our govt always works closer to the people to solve all their problems. Every citizen of Odisha, especially the poor and helpless who have no one to help them, has the govt system at their disposal at all times. Solving their problems is our top priority,” read Majhi’s X post.
