Kochi, Jul 29 (PTI) Police on Wednesday said a 12-year-old girl who had gone missing from Aluva here on July 25 was found in Pune the previous day, along with a Kollam-based man.
The girl is on her way back to Kerala, Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief Sudarsan K S told reporters.
Giving details of the investigation and search for the girl, he said a missing person case was registered immediately on receiving a complaint from her parents, given the seriousness of the matter, and within hours, her location was traced to Mangalapuram.
The girl had left home on the evening of July 25, a Saturday, under the pretext of borrowing a book from a friend, but did not return.
The parents subsequently lodged a complaint with the police.
The officer said that
on tracing the girl’s location to Mangalapuram, a team was immediately dispatched, and local police there were also alerted.
“But the girl was travelling with a young man, and the two kept their phones switched off, turning them on only on rare occasions,” he said.
Hours later, the girl’s location was traced to Goa, and then close to Dharavi in Mumbai, but by the time the police team reached there, the phone had been switched off again.
Later, information was received that she and the man were travelling on the Nizamuddin Express, based on which they were taken into custody from Pune, he said.
The officer identified the man as Abhijit and said he had been selling ice cream at Cherai beach here for more than six months.
Further action would be taken after the girl is questioned, he said. PTI HMP SSK
