Mumbai: A two-year-old girl, who went missing while playing in front of her father’s shop in Sakinaka, was rescued within six hours by the police. They also managed to apprehend her kidnapper, identified as Sandeep Parab, 28, based on CCTV camera footage that showed him making off with the child.
Police said as per the complaint filed by her father Barkat Ali Saha, a baker, Sirin Fatima went missing around 4.30 p.m. on Friday. Senior PI Avinash Dharmadhikari, Sakinaka police station, said, “We examined CCTV footage from the area, which showed a man picking her up. Using stills from the footage, we began making inquiries to identify the kidnapper.”
Within a couple of hours, the pictures were recognised by some residents as the accused stays in the same locality. However, despite a search operation, he was untraceable. Around 10 p.m., a police team itself in the accused’s residence got lucky, when he walked in.
Police said Mr. Parab delivers ice to the bakery owned by Mr. Saha, and was known to the victim. Mr. Dharmadhikari said, “As we brought him outside, furious residents surrounded him and tried to assault him. We rescued him and took him to the police station. During initial questioning, he confessed to picking up the child. He claimed he was drunk at the time, and said he took her to a secluded spot in Kurla where he left her in an abandoned autorickshaw.”
Happy ending
Within minutes, a police team left for the spot mentioned by the accused. To everyone’s joy and relief, Sirin Fatima was where the kidnapper had left her. She was brought to the police station and handed over to her parents. Mr. Parab was placed under arrest and charged with kidnapping and outraging modesty under relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
Mr. Dharmadhikari said, “The victim has not been abused in any way, but recent amendments to the law require us to invoke molestation charges and the POCSO Act in cases of minor girls being kidnapped.” He said the accused was produced in court on Saturday, which remanded him in police custody till March 3.
