GUWAHATI, Feb 5 - Terming yesterday�s rescue of the 15-month baby which was kidnapped from Hatigaon area as a huge success for both City Police and South Salmara Police, State DGP Mukesh Sahay today said that rescuing a child unhurt from the clutches of kidnappers was a tricky affair involving utmost caution on the part of the police.
The DGP, who was addressing the media, also appealed to the people to check and verify the credentials of tenants, servants, drivers, plumbers, etc, with the police in view of the involvement of many such persons in crimes.
�We urge the citizens to verify the antecedents of the persons they employ in their homes or keep as tenants because many such persons have been found to be involved in crimes, especially in child kidnapping. We are also mulling to bring in a rule and make such police verification mandatory,� Sahay said. He said that it was all the more creditable for South Salmara Police which showed remarkable proficiency and patience in tracking down the child and rescuing it unhurt.
�Compared to Guwahati Police, South Salmara Police is a less glamorous and less-equipped force and it handled the case well. We take a zero-risk approach in such cases, as we cannot take any chances while rescuing a child in view of the vulnerability of the child. It was a team effort executed to perfection. Our thanks also go to West Garo Hills (Meghalaya) Police for its support in rescuing the child in the Assam-Meghalaya border area.
�The joint team of police from the Guwahati Police Commissionerate and South Salmara Police successfully rescued the child at the dawn of February 4 from the house of one Sakirul Islam, who works as a labourer in a coal mine in Meghalaya. The child was kept confined inside a hole dug inside the house,� Sahay said.
While the main accused Noor Mohammed has been absconding, his associates, too, have been identified by the police and a manhunt has been on to arrest all of them.
�The role played by our team comprising Debajit Nath, ACP (Basistha) and his staff under direct supervision of DCP (East) as well as the Commissioner of City Police, and the team of South Salmara-Mankachar district comprising Partha Pratim Saikia, DSP (HQ) and his team under direct supervision of Amrit Bhuyan, SP (South Salmara-Mankachar) was critical in rescuing the child in quick time,� Sahay added.
It was on February 3 that an FIR was received by the Hatigaon Police Station about the kidnapping of the child by Noor Mohammad, a tenant in the house of the complainant.
Family members of the child, too, were all praise for the police for rescuing the child unhurt in such a short time.
The grandfather of the child, who accompanied the police team to South Salmara, said that they travelled to interior areas and walked several kilometers several times before the child could be located.
�In the final operation, I was not accompanying the police. A police team in plainclothes located the child and rescued it. We will forever remain grateful to Assam Police for this remarkable act,� he said.