Mumbai:
Five-year-old Karnit Shah was brought back home by a Mumbai police team today.
He was found in far-away Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Three men who allegedly kidnapped him, have been arrested.
Among those arrested is the main accused, Sameer Khan, whose sketch had been released by the police. The men had demanded ransom from the Shah family, police said.
Karnit went missing on April 6.
The boy's relieved father, Anand Shah, told NDTV, "The police called to say he is safe and sound." Sharing the family's joy and relief are thousands of people on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
(Read: Mumbai father turns to Facebook to find kidnapped child)"This is a very emotional moment for all of us, not only for the Mumbai police or the media. This is the ceremonial lounge. Here we come to receive the PM the President and all the dignitaries. I have been here a couple of times, so I thought, now we are receiving a very special guest," said Arup Patnaik, Mumbai Police Commissioner.
"This is a blessing because there were only two occasions previously that comes to my mind. Unfortunately the kidnapped children could not be traced alive. Maybe this child, he had his luck, he had his own blessings," he added.
On April 6, Karnit was playing near the apartment building in which his family lives in Mumbai's suburb Kandivli, when he went missing. Karnit's family pulled out all stops to trace the little boy. They turned to Facebook,uploading photos of his son along with his phone number, hoping a stranger somewhere would respond with information that could help them locate Karnit. Online communities sprang up as the appeal went viral. Thousands of people forwarded Karnit's photos.
(Karnit Shah found: Buzz on Twitter) Mumbai's celebrities joined in, tweeting the appeal and Karnit's photos. The Shahs also offered two lakhs as a reward for any information that could help them locate Karnit.
The many people who did not even know the family but got together online in the search for Karnit, are now posting messages of joy and relief after news came in of the little boy being found.
Anand, a stockbroker, is married to Alpa, a housewife. Their older child, a daughter, is in Class 4. Making a fervent appeal for their son, the Shahs had said they had no personal or professional rivalries that might have prompted the kidnapping of their young child.
The police said children in the neighbourhood had spoken of a "Sunny Uncle", possibly in his 20s, who had been seen lately offering chocolates and sweets to them. The police sketch was prepared on the basis of their descriptions.
The police had set up five teams to try and locate Karnit.