Thrissur: The Palakkad North Police on Saturday arrested a man for abducting a one-year-old Odisha girl who was travelling with her parents on a train to Kerala. The incident took place in the early hours of Thursday aboard the Tata Nagar Express. The accused, Vetrivel, is a native of Dindigul in Tamil Nadu.

The child, who was sleeping beside her mother, Hameesa, and father, Manas, both natives of Odisha, went missing during the journey from Odisha to Aluva, Ernakulam. According to sources, there were only a few passengers in the compartment at the time.

The couple discovered the child was missing when the train reached Thrissur and alerted the railway police. A search operation was launched using the baby’s photograph, though the exact location of the abduction remained unclear, as the mother had been asleep.

On Saturday, autorickshaw drivers at Olavakkode in Palakkad noticed Vetrivel carrying the crying toddler. Suspicious of his behaviour, they alerted the police. According to sources, Vetrivel was found to be intoxicated and initially claimed the child was his. However, when questioned further, he reportedly said, “If it’s your baby, take her,” prompting the locals to detain him and hand him over to Palakkad North Police.