CCTV footage of kidnapping accused in a black sedan at Sector-44 in Chandigarh. Express
By Akanksha Budhiraja
An 11-YEAR-OLD girl was allegedly kidnapped from outside her home in Sector 44-B on Friday night. Three kidnappers drove with the girl around the city in a black sedan for nearly two-and-a-half hours. The girl finally managed to bite the hand of one of the kidnappers, open the door and jump out of the moving car at Sector 27. Then, she borrowed the mobile phone from a passer-by and contacted her parents, who had already launched a search for their daughter by then. Police have also obtained a CCTV footage from a camera installed in the locality from where the girl was allegedly kidnapped.
The suspected vehicle in which she was kidnapped was found making various rounds of the house, during day time, from where the girl was kidnapped on Friday night. The suspected vehicle’s number plate is of Ludhiana. Senior police officers told Chandigarh Newsline that they have already sent a team to Ludhiana.
The incident took place around 8.30 pm when the girl was standing at the main gate of her house, located in a densely populated residential area of Sector 44-B. She finally contacted her parents an hour later from a mobile phone, which she said she had borrowed from a passer-by after jumping out of the moving car near the Sector 27 market. Her parents reached Sector 27 and brought her home. Then, they contacted the police and lodged a formal complaint of kidnapping. Police officers reached her home and recorded her statement after which a case was registered against three unidentified men on charges of kidnapping for ransom.
The girl’s father is a businessman. She is a student of Class VI at a private school. The school bus, which takes her to school, passes through Sector 27. “When the car reached the Sector 27 lightpoint, it was a red signal and the car’s driver had to slow down. I bit the hand of the person, who was holding me in the rear seat of the vehicle, opened the door and jumped out of the car. The three men then sped off as there were many other vehicles waiting at the signal to turn green and had seen me jump out. Since my school bus passes through the same sector, I could recognise that I was in Sector 27. I borrowed the phone from a woman passing by and contacted my parents,” a visibly terrified victim told Chandigarh Newsline.
“All three had their faces covered with masks. One of them came out of the car and asked me about an address. All of a sudden, he covered my face with a cloth and pulled me inside the vehicle. I could hear them talking to each other about how much ransom they should ask from my family,” the victim added. “Initially, we thought that she might be angry with us and had gone out somewhere. We kept searching for her and when we could not find her in the neighbourhood, we realised that something wrong had happened,” the girl’s mother told Newsline.
Local, however, appreciated the girl’s courage and presence of mind which helped her escape form the clutches of her kidnappers. SSP (UT) Nilambri Vijay Jagdale visited the victim’s home on Saturday morning and interacted with the child and her parents. Inspector Harminderjit Singh, who is officiating as SHO of PS 34, said, “We have registered a criminal case and efforts are on to identify and nab the accused. A black sedan is suspectedly involved in the crime. The vehicle is registered in the name of a Ludhiana resident. Further investigations are on.” Three teams, including Crime Branch personnel and South subdivision, were constituted to investigate the case.
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