A six-month-old child, who had a happy family only a few days back, is now a dweller of a local orphanage in the town after her mother was abducted and father assaulted allegedly by her maternal grandfather.
On Wednesday morning, motorbike-borne criminals from Chandmari Road area abducted the girl’s mother, Khushboo. The abductors also attacked Khushboo’s husband, Krishna Kumar Ram, with a sharp weapon, injuring him grievously. The Telegraph reported the incident in its July 19, 2012, edition.
“I have requested policemen to keep my daughter with them or bring her to me, as the people who have abducted my wife could attack her as well,” said Ram, at Motihari sadar hospital where he is recovering from injuries.
Ram and Khushboo’s six-month-old daughter was handed over to the care of a local orphanage by Town police station inspector Ramashish Kamti on Wednesday evening. The abductors had thrown the infant on the road when they kidnapped her mother.
The manager of the orphanage, Rameshwar Sah, and his wife Nema Devi have made special arrangements for their new ward, who is also the youngest member of the orphanage. Ram’s elder sister Viveka Devi said: “I went to the police station yesterday (Thursday) evening and requested them to hand over the child to me but they said only her grandparents could claim her. ”
Sources at Gonahi village, around 46km southeast of Motihari in East Champaran and around 145km northwest of Patna, where Khushboo’s family lives said the alleged abductors have abandoned their home and disappeared. They also feared that Khushboo may be a victim of honour killing because she eloped with Ram and got married to him a-year-and-a-half ago.
Ram has named his wife’s father, Raghvendra Singh, along with his nephew Tripurari Singh, and two other persons in an FIR lodged at Motihari Town police station. The police, however, are yet to make any progress in the case.
“We can’t say anything yet but the investigating officers are pursuing the matter. We hope for the best,” said East Champaran superintendent of police Ganesh Kumar.
