How a WhatsApp forward helped rescue two kidnapped Bengaluru children

Two children who were kidnapped from Bhupasandra main road were found in Tirupathi under strange circumstances  They had come to visit their grandfather Nagaraj, a tender coconut seller, at Bhupasandra and one Vinod came to a scrap shop nearby, lured them of eatables and took them He took them to Tirupathi where an old acquaintance ran into them and he saved the children

Two children who were kidnapped from Bhupasandra main road have been found in Tirupathi under strange circumstances and they were reunited with their parents in Hebbal, reports Kannada Prabha.

Namrata (7) and Namit (5), children of Prashanth, residing at Hebbal had come to visit their grandfather Nagaraj, a tender coconut seller, at Bhupasandra on October 25.  At around 11.30 am, one Vinod came to a scrap shop nearby and saw the children. He lured them of eatables and took them. At a bakery near Bhupasandra bus stand he bought them snacks to eat and took them in an auto to Yeshwanthpura. From there he took the children to Tirupathi by train.

At Tirupathi, Vinod took the children to the temple and ran into a mason Venkatesh, an old acquaintance who used to live near Old Guddadahalli. They spoke and Venkatesh casually asked who the children were. Vinod said they were his children and his wife had died and hence he had come there. Venkatesh got suspicious and spoke to the children. When they denied that he was their father, Vinod got scared, he left the children and ran away. Venkatesh took the children home.

Meanwhile, Prashanth had sent the photos of the children on Whatsapp groups seeking help and even lodged a police complaint. Venkatesh was trying to find out about the children through local police and but had failed. On Oct 31 night, Namrata said their house is in Hebbal. Immediately, Venkatesh called his relative Avinash and informed him about the children and asked him to inform the Hebbal police about them. Immediately, Avinash said he had received Whatsapp message about missing children and forwarded the photos to Venkatesh, who confirmed the same children were with him. Avinash immediately contacted the parents and informed them the children were safe.

Sanjay Nagar ASI Shivamurthy and constable Naganna went to Tirupathi on Nov 1 and brought the children back to Bengaluru and handed over their parents. After Prashanth lodged a complaint, the Sanjaynagar police had checked the CCTV and found that Vinod had taken the children with him. They have registered a complaint and are investigating into this.