Pandalam: A three-and-a-half-year-old girl clung tightly in the hands of KSRTC conductor Aneesh as she boarded the bus with a nomadic woman. Moved by the child's innocent gesture, Aneesh let her stand near his seat. The child remained by his side, sensing a feeling of safety and trust. From the expression in her eyes and face, Aneesh immediately sensed something was amiss.

The woman had boarded the Chengannur depot super-fast bus travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrissur around noon on Tuesday, at Adoor. Conductor Aneesh, a native of Ezhikkad, Kulanada, noticed the woman speaking Tamil while the child responded in Malayalam, which further raised his suspicion. When asked for a ticket, the woman said she had no money and would get off near Pandalam. However, suspecting a possibility of abduction, Aneesh rushed the bus to the Pandalam police station and handed both the woman and the child to the authorities. Since the bus had confirmed bookings, Aneesh resumed the journey shortly after this.

35-year-old Devi from Coimbatore, is currently in police custody but was in a vague state during the initial investigation. The police felt that the child was not hers. Further enquiries revealed that the girl was from Kunnicode, Kollam. On Monday evening, her mentally challenged mother had taken her to visit Kollam Beach, where the child was abducted by the nomadic woman. That night, the family members arrived and took the child home.

For a few hours, she was Pandalam Police's little one

Although the abducted child was with them for only a few hours, she has become the darling of the Pandalam Police Station. Thanks to the timely intervention of conductor Aneesh, the child reached the police station safely by Tuesday afternoon. After bringing both the woman and the child to the station, Aneesh resumed the bus journey to Thrissur.

Senior Civil Police Officer K Jalaja, who was on GD charge duty, took the child to the station. In no time, the girl got attached to Jalaja. She was bathed and dressed in new clothes and shoes, replacing the ragged attire. By then, other police officers had arrived with toys to comfort her. Assistant Sub-Inspector B Shine, Sub-Inspector Santhosh Kumar, and several other officers showered her with affection. Despite being exhausted from working all day, Jalaja stayed up late to make sure the child was safe until her family arrived at around 9 pm.