15 August,2018 08:15 PM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
Senior PI Prakash Birajdar, PSI Somnath Kadam and Constable Jitendra Vasave (second from right) with the rescued girl and her father
Two policemen from Boisar went the extra mile or 2,000 to rescue a 13-year-old all the way in Nepal, after she was kidnapped by a waiter in Mumbai. The cops found her in the waiter's native village, which was so remote that the cops had to zip-line on a dodgy cable across the flooded Mahakali river to get there.
The father of the abducted 13-year-old girl approached the Boisar police on June 21 to file a missing person's report. He told the cops that she had gone to the doctor with her mother and younger brother, but went missing from the clinic.
"During initial questioning, the father told us they didn't suspect anyone, as they had moved to Boisar only a month ago from Borivli. We followed this lead and went to Borivli question their neighbours and the girl's classmates. But nothing came of it," said an officer with the Boisar police.
The accused had hidden the girl in Tamali village, Nepal
Long calls at night
"Then we asked the father whether the girl used to talk on the phone with anyone for long hours. He told us that she would speak on the phone with somebody late into the night," the officer added.
The police checked the girl's call detail record (CDR), and found a recurring number on the phone log. They then checked WhatsApp and found the caller's picture - it was a man in his 20s. The cops returned to Borivli with the picture, which a local restaurant hotel manager identified as a former employee, Narendra Pandey, 22.
Narendra's former colleagues at the hotel told the police that he hailed from a village in Nepal, so the cops immediately departed for Nepal on the Rajdhani express on July 29. "While we were travelling, we received information that Narendra had contacted one of his colleagues in Borivli and told them that he had returned from Nepal and was now searching for work in Butana village in Haryana, where his brother also works," said one of the investigators.
Police Sub-Inspector Somnath Kadam and Constable Jitendra Vasave hot-footed it to Haryana, and arrested Narendra, who was working as a waiter at a university mess. The accused told the cops that he had hidden the teenager at Tamali village in Nepal.
The police duo then left for Nepal once again. During their cross-country mission, they came upon the heavily flooded Mahakali river. To cross the river, they'd either have to travel another 500 km to a bridge, or take a chance with a shaky zip-lining cable used by workers constructing a dam at Pancheshwar. "The cable was not very strong, and could only support two people at a time. But going to the bridge would have cost us two more days, due to the winding roads in the hills," said PSI Somnath Kadam.
"We were running short of time, and feared that if the news of our arrival reached Narendra's ears, he would move the girl somewhere else. So, we took the risk and zip-lined across the river," added Kadam.
Booked for rape
The policemen reached Tamali village on August 1, and found the girl at Narendra's home. "The accused had kept the girl in his village and told his family that he was going to marry her. We brought her back by zip-lining over the river again. We took the Rajdhani Express from New Delhi and reunited the girl with her family," said Senior Inspector Prakash Birajdar.
"The accused has been booked under IPC Section 376 (rape) and relevant sections of the Prevention Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He is in police custody now," added Birajdar.
Also Read: Mumbai Crime: Flourishing sex racket busted in Thane, 3 women rescued
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