Palakkad (Kerala) | A man hailing from Tamil Nadu was caught and booked for kidnapping a one-year-old daughter of an Odisha-based couple the previous night while they were sleeping on-board the Tata Nagar Express, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the accused de-boarded the train at Olavakkode with the child, but as it was crying, locals, including autorickshaw drivers, questioned him.

Dissatisfied by his responses, they stopped the accused there, took away the child and informed the police, an officer of Palakkad Town North police station said.

The Tamil Nadu-native is presently in custody and his arrest will be recorded soon, the officer said.

The accused was trying to make off with the child while it was sleeping, police said.

The Odisha couple, who were on their way to Aluva where they work, told a TV channel that the coach they were in was almost empty and they fell asleep holding their daughter.

"We woke up when the train reached Thrissur and realised that our daughter was missing. We searched on the train, but did not find her. So, we got down and told the railway police there," the father said.