WATCH: Man caught on camera trying to abduct 4 year old child 

In a strange case in Ludhiana, Punjab, a man was caught on camera trying to abduct a 4-year-old child when she was sleeping with her mother outside their residence. The man has been arrested.

According to news agency ANI, in this dramatic footage from Tuesday night, the man, apparently a vendor, can be seen in the video lifting a child sleeping outside on a cot next to her mother and grandmother.

In the CCTV footage, it can be clearly seen that the man picks up the child and places her in a cart. When he tries to run away, the two women wake up and one of them chases him.

Amid all the ensuing chaos, the local residents in the neighbourhood catch hold of the man not too far from the child's residence.

He was later handed over to the police.

"The accused is nearly 40 years old. He first came near the home to check if the family was fast asleep. He then came back with his cart to kidnap the child. The mother woke up and the man was caught by locals," a police officer told news agency ANI.

"It's not yet clear why he was trying to kidnap the child," he added.

The police said a case of child theft has been registered on the basis of CCTV visuals.