Delhi: 6-yr-old boy kidnapped, assaulted over grudge; accused held

A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting a six-year-old boy in northwest Delhi's Subhash Place area over a personal grudge, police said on Sunday.

The accused, Mohammad Samem -- resident of Shakurbasti -- was apprehended within hours of the incident and the child was rescued following an intensive search operation, they said.

According to the police, a PCR call was received around 3.18 am on November 4, reporting the kidnapping of a six-year-old boy from Subhash Place area.

''The child's mother said her son had gone to a nearby shop around 7 pm on November 3 but did not return home. Suspecting that someone had kidnapped him, she approached the police,'' a senior officer said.

Based on her complaint, the police registered an FIR. A team launched a search operation and CCTV footage from nearby streets and shops was scanned, while photographs of the missing child were circulated among local staff and neighbouring police stations, the officer added.

''During the search, the boy was found injured in bushes near the railway lines and was shifted to a hospital for treatment,'' the officer said, adding that the team later traced and arrested the accused from Shakurbasti.

During interrogation, Samem confessed that he had kidnapped and assaulted the child due to a personal grudge, the police said.

The accused is being interrogated to ascertain if anyone else was involved and further investigation is underway, they added.