JAIPUR: Police have arrested a 34-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping a 22-month-old boy from the Neemrana area of Kotputli-Behror district, with investigators saying the accused intended to sacrifice the child to gain “supernatural powers, please gods, and marry a woman of his choice”.The toddler, Krishna, was rescued from a Kali temple in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh, within about 40 hours of the abduction, police said.Police identified the accused as Vivek Kumar Kushwaha, a native of Sasaram in Bihar’s Rohtas district, and said he was arrested before he could allegedly carry out the human sacrifice.Police also said the accused told investigators he had been depressed for more than a year and that his wife had left him. Officials added there was a prior theft case against him in Bihar.“The accused had become deeply influenced by superstition and believed that sacrificing the toddler would help him fulfil his personal desires,” Superintendent of Police Satveer Singh said Thursday. “For almost four months he was thinking to kidnap and sacrifice an infant to please gods.”Investigators said Kushwaha first planned to abduct an infant or toddler from the overcrowded Dargah Bazaar area in Ajmer but shifted plans after failing there. Police said he then stole a motorcycle from the Clock Tower area in Ajmer and travelled to Neemrana, allegedly stealing another bike en route when the first ran out of fuel. “The accused had visited Ajmer and other cities and randomly picked up the boy,” the SP said.Krishna was allegedly kidnapped while playing outside his home in the Holi Tiba area of Neemrana on Oct 18, triggering a large search operation.“We examined footage from more than 350 CCTV cameras and followed leads across several locations to track the accused’s movements towards Uttar Pradesh,” a police officer said. “The investigation eventually led police to a Kali temple in Kavar village near Kosi Kalan in Mathura, ” he said.
