A day after police taking into custody Chathannur resident Padmakumar, his wife Anitha Kumari and daughter Anupama for their involvement in the Kollam child kidnapping case, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) MR Ajith Kumar said the family executed the crime to obtain money for settling their debt.

Addressing the media in Kollam, ADGP Ajith Kumar said the motive behind the crime was financial gain as the family had fallen on hard times during the Covid pandemic. He said this is a well-planned crime committed by an entire family to escape from financial crisis.

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“Inspired by similar incidents, they have been planning the crime for the last one year. The first fake [vehicle] number plate was made one year ago, while the second one was obtained only recently. The family has been monitoring remote and isolated areas for identifying victims,” the ADGP said.

The investigation team probing the case recorded the arrest of Chathannur resident Padmakumar, his wife Anitha Kumari and daughter Anupama on Saturday, nearly 24 hours after they were taken into custody from Puliyara near Shenkottai in Tamil Nadu on Friday.

The ADGP said that the probe team’s major focus was on coercing the gang to abandon the child safely. He added that the accused confessed that they decided to drop the child off at the Ashram Maidan after facing pressure from the police investigation.

It was Padmakumar’s wife Anithakumari’s brain behind the abduction plan. The couple has been planning for the move since 2022, the ADGP said

“Padmakumar, who is a Computer Science graduate, had run many businesses including cable network, bakery, agriculture and real estate. His daughter, Anupama, who owns a YouTube channel, was in financial trouble after she stopped receiving revenue from it. She used to earn between Rs 3.8 lakh and Rs 5 lakh per month as revenue. Facing a crisis, she agreed to join the plan prepared by his father and mother to abduct the kid,” the ADGP said.

Padmakumar had a liability of five crores. The accused targeted Rs 10 lakh for emergency purposes. The ADGP said the abduction plan was executed with precision.

The ADGP said that neither Padmakumar nor his wife and daughter have any criminal background.

Abigail Sara Reji, a six-year-old girl hailing from Oyoor in Kollam, was kidnapped by an unidentified gang on Monday at 4.30 pm. The girl was abducted while she was going to tuition class along with her eight- year- old brother.

Five days after the abduction, the investigation team probing the case, has taken into custody Chathannur resident Padmakumar, his wife Anitha Kumari and daughter Anupama in connection with the case from Puliyara near Shenkottai in Tamil Nadu on Friday.

Meanwhile, Kottarakkara Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Saturday sent all three accused in the child abduction case for 14 days judicial custody. The prime accused, Padmakumar, was shifted to sub-jail in Kottarakara while his wife, Anithakumari and daughter, Anupama, were sent to women’s prison at Attakulangara.