Mangalore / Tiruchy, Nov 13 (India Express) : A two-year-old boy, who was kidnapped and sold for Rs 1.5 lakh, has been rescued by the police from Mangaluru. The police arrested three persons, including a 42-year-old woman, in connection with the incident. City Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav on Wednesday handed over the boy to his parents after completion of the legal process.

Arshath Khan, son of Hazrat Shainsha (28), an auto driver from Pensioners Street in Tennur, went missing on the evening of November 4 while playing near his house, sources said. Since the boy could not be traced, Shainsha lodged a complaint with the Thillai Nagar police the same day.

The police registered a boy missing case and launched a probe. Yadav formed a special team under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner (Law and Order) Saroj Kumar Thakur.

On November 10, the team received a tip-off that a person called Faritha Begam alias Jennifar, a neighbour of the boy, had left her house the day he went missing.

It is said that Faritha had deserted her husband Galeel Ahamed and married a person called Sathi alias Vinod, who was working in Delhi. Simultaneously, she also allegedly developed an extra-marital affair with Loganathan of Palakkarai. The police also found that Faritha had been arranging child artistes for movies with the help of Vinod’s brother, Mani, who lived in Mangaluru. Following police interrogation, Faritha confessed that she had kidnapped the child with the help of Loganathan to make quick money, and kept the boy at Mani’s house at Mudushedde area in Mangaluru.

During interrogation, Faritha said a week before Deepavali, she and Loganathan rented a room at EB Road here to abduct the boy, but failed in their attempt. They had watched the boy come out of his house around 4 pm everyday to play and decided to kidnap him during that time. As planned, on November 4, Faritha offered the boy a chocolate and took him to a car kept ready by Loganathan. They took him to Karur where they stayed for two days. Then he was handed over to Mani in Mangaluru.