COIMBATORE: The Erode police on Tuesday arrested a couple from Namakkal for abducting a one-and-a-half-year-old girl child sleeping beneath a flyover with her parents on October 16.

The accused, K Ramesh (34), from Pollachi in Coimbatore, and his live-in partner, Nithya (38), were arrested for abducting the daughter of Venkadesan and Keerthana while they were asleep beneath the flyover near Lakshmi Nagar in Bhavani on the Salem-Coimbatore National Highway.

They hail from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and eke out a living by selling broomsticks. After nearly a month’s search, the police rescued the baby on Monday.

Inquiries revealed that both Ramesh and Nithya had separated from their spouses and were living together in Namakkal. “They kidnapped the child with a plan to raise it.

Ramesh, a painter, is a habitual offender and was arrested once before for attempting to abduct a baby in Salem,” police said. Further inquiries are on.