Image Courtesy: Chikaoduahblog
“This uncle is very cruel. From the crack of dawn at 3 till 6 pm, he would force me to beg. Then he would snatch away all the money I collected, tie my hands and legs, and inject me with drugs to force me to sleep”.
This is the statement of Uttar Pradesh’s Rohit who was kidnapped by Raju alias Pinku from the railway station on 27th May. Rohit was restored to his mother, Rameela Devi on Tuesday.
13 years old who studies in class 7th had run away from his home on 25th May because he was scolded by his family members. He was headed towards his Mausi and Mausa’s (maternal uncle and aunt) home near Peepal Chowk, Ghyaspura, in Ludhiana. As soon as he came out of the station he met Raju, who allured the innocent child by giving him cold drink, biscuits, meat and chapattis. Thereafter, on the pretext of helping him reach his Mausa’s house, he made him sit in an auto and kept a handkerchief on his mouth, making him unconscious.
On regaining his senses, Rohit found that his limbs were tied up and he was in a room with five more children in a similar predicament. On refusing to beg, Raju thrashed him and kept him hungry till he relented. He was followed by a man and a woman while he went out to beg, to keep an eye on him. In the evening they would tie up all the kids with the same rope and inject them with vaccines used for livestock to make them unconscious. According to an onlooker, the effect of the injections would be so strong that even the faces of the kids would alter.
They even planned to train them to steal goods from vehicles, but before the plan reached fruition, the gang was caught.
It is a note of caution to the parents to be tender with their children who are impressionable and can take extreme steps which would be regretted later.
