A bold kidnapping unfolded in broad daylight when two children, Sathvi (4) and Vyom (3), were taken from their home in Belagavi district on Thursday afternoon. The shocking incident was recorded on CCTV, showing two armed kidnappers entering the house, seizing the children, and escaping in a vehicle.
The parents of the children filed a missing person report with the Athani Police, prompting authorities to register a case under IPC section 363 (kidnapping). Investigators are exploring a possible link to a financial dispute involving the children’s father, who had borrowed money, and suspect that the lenders may be involved in the abduction.
In response, the Belagavi police initiated a manhunt for the kidnappers. Police opened fire to rescue the two children from their abductors in Belagavi district on October 24. Three men broke into a house, assaulted an elderly woman, and kidnapped the two children of Vijay Desai, an Athani-based businessman.
Police formed three teams to trace the kidnappers. A vehicle carrying the children and the accused was intercepted on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border on Kohalli-Sindhur road. The suspects attempted to escape by opening fire at the police, who returned fire, resulting in injuries to one suspect and two police personnel.
Authorities arrested Ravikiran Kamlakar from Chikkodi taluk, Shahrukh Sheikh from Bihar, currently residing in Mumbai, and Samba Raosab Kamble from Hatkanagala in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. Superintendent of Police Bheema Shankar Guled informed reporters that the injured officers, Zameer Dange and Ramesh Hadimani, are receiving treatment in Athani. Samba, one of the kidnappers, also sustained injuries and is being treated in the Athani taluk hospital.
Vijay Desai, who registered a complaint, stated he had no knowledge of the suspects or their motives for abducting his children. “I was in Belagavi, and my wife was not at home. Only my elderly mother was present and she was assaulted. We are worried and afraid now. We want the police department to assist us,” he told reporters in Athani. Dr. Guled praised the police team that successfully rescued the children.
