The motive behind the abduction of a six-year-old girl from Kollam district's Oyur on Monday is expected to be known soon as the Kerala Police made three arrests in connection with the case. A family of three were reportedly held on Friday after the investigation team managed to zero in on a second vehicle used in the abduction.
Here are five latest developments in connection with the child abduction case that rocked Kerala:
1. Although it was in a white Honda car used to abduct the girl, the gang later used another vehicle to take her to Kollam town. The child later told the investigation team that this car was blue in colour, Malayala Manorama said. Thus, the cops turned their focus to identify this second vehicle which ultimately led them to the accused, the report added.
2. The girl also revealed that the gang spent the night at an undisclosed location on Monday (November 27), before restarting the travel in the blue car on Tuesday morning. Later, the investigation confirmed that the woman boarded an autorickshaw from Link Road near Kollam KSRTC bus stand to reach the spot where the child was later abandoned.
3. Once this blue car was identified, the cops traced the whereabouts of its owner. The suspect's location was found by tracking the mobile phone number of the car owner. This helped the police team to nab the accused from Tamil Nadu.
4. The arrested trio belonged to the same family. The main accused, native to Kollam's Chathannoor claimed that his wife and daughter, the co-arrested, had no role in the crime, Malayala Manorama reported. Meanwhile, the girl identified the prime accused from among 10 photographs shown to her by the police.
5. They were picked up from a restaurant in Tamil Nadu's Thenkasi while having food at around 2:30 PM on Friday. They were brought to Kollam, news reports said. The two cars also remain in police custody.
The motive for the crime remains unconfirmed. The police suspect the accused holds a grudge against the girl's father over some financial deals. They also suspect the other woman who was directly involved in the abduction is a nursing caretaker.
