Malda Police in West Bengal rescued a three-year-old girl within 25 minutes of her alleged abduction on Tuesday, intercepting two masked kidnappers after a high-speed chase near the Bengal-Bihar border.

The incident occurred around 12:30 pm when the child was abducted while playing outside her maternal uncle’s house in Kotol, a small locality near the border. Two masked men on a Yamaha motorcycle allegedly snatched the child and sped away towards Chandipur.

Once the alert reached Harishchandrapur Police Station, officials “swung into action”. Checkpoints were set up across all exit routes, and a detailed description of the suspects and their motorcycle was circulated to nearby police units. The coordination paid off within minutes.

A resident spotted the fleeing motorcycle near Chandipur and alerted the police, triggering a pursuit. Realising they were being chased, the kidnappers allegedly attempted to escape through Lakshmanpur towards Bhaluka Road — close to the Bihar border — but their route was soon blocked.

As the bike entered Islampur, it ran into an interception team led by SDPO Chanchal Somnath Saha and Sub-Inspector Mohammad Zakir Hossain. In a last-ditch bid to flee, the bikers lost control, and the motorcycle skidded off the road, officials said. The duo tried to abandon the child, but Hossain’s team moved in immediately, rescuing the girl and arresting one of the kidnappers on the spot.

The arrested man was identified as Chhoton Nag, a resident of Harishchandrapur Sadar, who police said has a criminal record. The second accused managed to escape but, according to police, has been identified and will be arrested “soon.”

The child, who sustained a minor head injury after being thrown from the moving motorcycle, was rushed to Harishchandrapur Rural Hospital, where she received treatment under the supervision of IC Monojit Sarkar and SDPO Saha. She was later reunited with her mother.

Officials said the entire operation — from identifying the initial abduction to the rescue and arrest — was completed within 25 minutes. Police credited the rapid communication and coordinated effort of multiple teams.