Quick thinking, a 33-second CCTV clip, and hitch-free coordination helped the police of two districts in West Bengal to recover a 7-year-old kidnapped girl in just four hours. At 11 am Saturday, two men on a motorbike with no licence plate snatched away a seven-year-old girl of a local prominent businessman from near her home in Harishchandrapur in Malda district. After the police were informed, they began a search operation.
The only pieces of clue they had were the helmet, the jacket, and the make and the colour of the motorbike.
A high alert was sounded in every police station of the district and the police of North Dinajpur district as well as neighbouring state Bihar were informed. Even the West Bengal-Bihar border in Malda was sealed.
In the meantime, the father of the girl received a “threat message” on his phone. This helped the police zero in on the cellphone tower of the sender’s number. It was Itahar, in North Dinajpur.
Soon, the operation intensified. CCTV footage from different locations between Malda and Itahar was collected. By 2:30 pm, the police spotted the kidnappers changing their route towards Karandighi.
As the abductors saw the police teams approaching from the front, they dropped the child on the National Highway, turned the motorbike, and tried to flee in the opposite direction.
“However, it proved futile,” Superintendent of Police (Malda) Pradeep Yadav said as he applauded the police team.
“Police from different places joined us and helped in locating the abductors within four hours,” the SP added.
A firearm was also recovered from the kidnappers, said police, adding they were investigating possible gang connections. “We will seek 15-day custody from the court for further interrogation,” said the officer.
Both the kidnappers, identified as Ijaz Ahmed and Raju Mustafa, are residents of Harishchandrapur in Malda.
“They had planned to flee to Bihar with the girl via Itahar, Karandighi, and Dalkhola. Then they planned to collect a huge ransom from the girl’s father,” said police.
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