Thiruvananthapuram: It was timely action by the Kerala Police that led to the rescue of a 14-year-old boy abducted from Kottiyam in Kollam district within hours. In fact, high drama was involved in the rescue mission. After the officers at Kottiyam police station informed the control room that a youngster had been abducted from their area in a vehicle, which was travelling along the national highway towards Thiruvananthapuram, the entire police force in the capital district became alert.

First message at 7.30 pm

It was around 7.30 pm on Monday that the police control room received the message that Ashik, son of Azad of Fathima Manzil at Kizhavoor, Valimukku in Kannanallor, Kottiyam was kidnapped by a gang from Tamil Nadu. The message was immediately passed on to all the police stations in the Thiruvananthapuram district.

Soon, more details of the vehicle in which the boy was being taken were obtained. Police learnt that the car was an ash-coloured Swift Dzire with a Tamil Nadu number plate.

Off-duty cops too join team

When the police realized the gravity of the situation, even personnel who had reached home after duty returned to work. Police were then deployed on all major routes leading to Tamil Nadu and patrolling teams launched vehicle checking.

At 8.30 pm, the car passed Kazhakoottam and at 8.53 pm, it entered the limits of the Poovar police station along the bypass. The patrolling team from Poovar police station recognized the car and blocked it. This made the occupants of the car panicky and they deviated to a side road. The police gave a chase and at Thirupuram, near Poovar, the abductors abandoned the car and fled.

Auto ride with boy

Two abductors ran with the boy towards Padyakkala Junction and hired an auto-rickshaw. They told the auto driver that the boy was sick and asked him to go to Padamthannimoodu beyond the state border at Kaliyikkavila. The boy was drugged by his captors to keep him quiet.

When the police saw that the car was abandoned, they issued an alert over the police channels to look for some other vehicle carrying the boy.

The entire operation was supervised by Rural SP Shilpa Devayya. Circle Inspector of Parassala Hemand Kumar wasted no time to post police at all minor roads leading to Tamil Nadu and alerted the local people also. Local residents also joined the search and at 11.30 pm, an auto arrived near the patrolling vehicle number CRV 8 which was under the charge of ASI Yakoob.

Rescue 15 m from state border

The auto stopped when the police signalled it to do so. But, one passenger jumped out of the vehicle and escaped. Noticing a boy among the other passengers, the police took everyone, including the auto driver, to the police station.

There was only one gang member among the passengers. Two others were acquaintances of the auto driver who had accompanied him as it was nighttime. The driver and his acquaintances were let off as they had no role in the abduction.

The gang member taken into custody was identified as Biju (30), belonging to Kattathura in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. Biju told the police that the gang had arrived in two vehicles and one car had already escaped to Tamil Nadu. He also revealed that the ‘quotation’ for the abduction was fixed at Rs one lakh.

After obtaining details of the other abductors, the Poovar police handed over Biju to their counterparts in Kottiyam.

Incidentally, the boy was rescued from Kozhivila, which is barely 15 metres from the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. “If the abductors had crossed the border into Tamil Nadu, it would have been difficult for us to nab them,” said a Kerala Police officer.