The officers never demanded ransom for the children. (representative picture)
Tanuj Chahal never demanded ransom for the child, who was also his nephew, making the kidnapping all the more suspicious.
In a shocking case, an obsessed lover kidnapped an 11-month-old child in a bid to reunite with his estranged partner. The farce lasted for 14 months, with the kidnappers disguised themselves as saints to evade police pursuit.
The accused is Tanuj Chahar, head constable of the Uttar Pradesh Police Special Cell, who was in a relationship with the child's mother, his cousin. When his relationship with her ended, he became increasingly obsessed and kidnapped her daughter Kuku from their home in Jaipur in June last year. Chahal lived with his children in various places, including Vrindavan, Mathura and Aligarh, and hid his identity in a sadhu's hut.
The situation took a sharp turn when Chahal was finally arrested near Agra. When police took the child away from him and returned him to his mother, the child initially resisted, crying and wanting to go back to his kidnapper. Chahar was visibly distraught and weeping at the loss of the child to whom he was attached. The scene left Jaipur police and onlookers shocked.
Chahar never demanded ransom for the child, who was also his nephew, making the kidnapping all the more suspicious.
When Chahal's lover (Kuku's mother) marries someone else, he travels to Jaipur to find her, living on the streets. A year later, he found her and started living with her in Jaipur. At that time, the two were married to different people, which led to opposition from their respective families and eventually ended the relationship. During this period, the woman gave birth to a child, which led Chahar to make the decision to kidnap the baby.
Chahal began claiming the child as his, and after failing to convince the child's mother to join him in UP, he desperately tried to reunite with her daughter by kidnapping her in the hope that the child's mother would come to him for the child's sake.
After the case was registered, Uttar Pradesh police took prompt action which resulted in Chahar's suspension. Jaipur Police ASP Poonamchand Vishnoi revealed that while Chahal was absconding, he had been in contact with the mother of the child and was under surveillance. However, he evaded detection by frequently changing his cell phone and location, and even taunted the police, saying they were incapable of catching him.
Currently in police custody, Chahal still claims the child as his own and demands her return. Meanwhile, Kuku's mother made it clear that she wished to sever all contact with the defendant.
