Missing Ranchi siblings freed from kidnappers in Jharkhand's Ramgarh, 2 held

Ranchi: Two siblings, who went missing from Ranchi's Dhurwa area 12 days ago, were freed from kidnappers in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district on Wednesday, police said.

The Ranchi Police have also arrested two persons, suspected to be members of an interstate gang involved in the case, they said.

A police team brought the children, aged 4 and 5, back to Ranchi from Ramgarh. The siblings had gone missing after visiting a grocery store near their house on January 2.

"We have safely recovered both Ansh Kumar and Anshika Kumari. The parents of the children are also with us. Under the leadership of Zonal IG Manoj Kaushik, Ranchi Police has achieved a major success," DGP Tadasha Mishra said.

"Preliminary interrogation revealed that the accused had taken the children to Chitarpur in Ramgarh," he told a press conference here.

The accused have been identified as Soni Kumar (20), a resident of Kothar village in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh, and her husband Nav Kherwar alias Surya (24), who hails from Bihar’s Aurangabad district, said SP-City Paras Rana.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren congratulated the police for the successful recovery of the children.

“Only a mother and family can feel the boundless joy of this moment. Heartfelt congratulations again to the Jharkhand Police team for this splendid success. DC Ranchi, please also inform and connect Ansh and Anshika's family to all necessary government schemes,” he said in a post on X.

In an earlier post, the CM had said the two siblings were freed from the "clutches of kidnappers today".

"How can someone stoop so low? Personally, the last few days have been quite distressing for me. Initially, there was no success, but the way the Ranchi Police connected the threads of a similar incident in another state and reached the criminals to secure the children's release is commendable," he said.

Soren said the investigation will not end with the rescue of the two children.

"We will make efforts to break the backs of criminal gangs after conducting a thorough investigation into such crimes in the state, and outside the state,” he added.

The parents of the children were also present at the press conference. "Many congratulations to the Ranchi Police. Our happiness knows no bounds,” they said.

Manoj Kaushik, Ranchi Zonal IG, said the case is being kept completely confidential, as the police is making all efforts to identify and dismantle a bigger network involved in the crime.

Details about how the children were kidnapped and where they were kept would be provided later, he said.

Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Babulal Marandi, said the safe recovery of the children brings a sigh of relief.

He also said that a widespread campaign was launched by the Bajrang Dal to search for the children.

Activists of the Bajrang Dal, Chitarpur, demonstrated dedication and responsibility, the BJP leader said.

He also asserted that pressure on the administration was intensified by the BJP's demonstration held on Tuesday.

RJD leader Kailash Yadav also expressed joy over the safe return of both children.

“I congratulate the police administration team for their dedication, hard work, and relentless efforts in securing the return of the abducted kids,” he said.