Kulgam: An 11-year-old US citizen, allegedly abducted by his caretakers from Jalandhar, was recovered from Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, according to officials.
Superintendent of Police Prabhjot Singh Virk confirmed the arrest of the accused — a couple identified as Shaminder Kaur and her husband Ajitpal Singh — who had been caring for the child, Hindustan Times reported.
The boy’s disappearance was reported by his family and the US embassy to Kapurthala police on May 12. Investigations revealed that the child’s father, after separating from his wife in the US, had obtained custody and brought the child to India when he was about 18 months old. He hired the couple in Jalandhar to care for the child, as his own mother, who lives in Begowal, was elderly.
Virk said the couple had been receiving payment from the boy’s father, who is currently residing in Poland after being deported from the US. However, the caretakers went out of contact from May 12, prompting the missing report.
Acting on human intelligence and digital evidence, police traced the suspects’ movement to Kashmir and, with support from local authorities, arrested them in Kulgam. The motive behind the alleged abduction remains unclear, Virk said.
Police have registered a case under Section 140 (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and the US embassy has been informed about the child’s recovery to facilitate his return to legal custodians.
