An off-duty police inspector attached to the Palghar police station on Tuesday rescued two girls who had allegedly been kidnapped from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and confined to a room in Nalla Sopara. The kidnapper, Abhijit Yadav, was arrested and the victim’s parents have been informed.

Police sub inspector (PSI) Surendra Shiwade was on sanctioned leave when he received a tip-off that two teenaged girls had been kidnapped from UP’s Sonoli in Maharajganj district, brought to the city and confined in a room at Rahmat Nagar in Tulinj.

“I went to the spot and after tracing them, alerted the police station. A team was sent and the accused was arrested,” said Shiwade.

Spokesperson for Palghar police, PSI Hemant Katkar, said, “The girls, aged 16 and 17, were visiting their relatives in Sonoli. On Friday, the girls went missing. A kidnapping case was registered with the UP police on Monday. The complainant relative said that one of the girls had failed her Class 11 exam.”

The arrested accused has been identified as Abhijit Yadav, a resident of Prayagraj in UP. “Yadav will be handed over to UP police soon. We are investigating whether the accused was involved in flesh trade,” said Katkar.

First Published: May 16, 2019 12:21 IST