Police rescue kidnapped one-year-old girl within 16 hours, detain three

Pune: The Pune city police, in a coordinated operation, rescued a one-year-old girl who was kidnapped from the Pune railway station area and detained three suspects within 16 hours in Daund.

Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Gauhar Hasan told TOI, “The child’s parents were asleep near the railway station when the incident occurred. They earn a living by begging and selling trinkets in the area.”

According to the police, the incident took place around 9.15pm on Saturday. The girl was sleeping with her family when unidentified persons allegedly kidnapped her. The parents approached the Bund Garden police station, following which a case was registered immediately.

Officers from the Bund Garden police station and the Crime Branch examined footage from more than 65 CCTV cameras in and around the railway station. The footage showed a man and a woman carrying the child. Further scrutiny revealed that the suspects had boarded the Panvel–Nanded train from Platform No. 4 at Pune railway station, along with the girl.

The police subsequently alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP), local police stations and Crime Branch units at railway stations along the train’s route towards Nanded.

Hasan said, “Teams were immediately dispatched to several locations, including Kurduwadi, Barshi, Solapur, Latur and Daund, to trace the suspects. During the search operation, they were eventually tracked down near Daund railway station and taken into custody.”

He said, “We are bringing the suspects and the child to Pune for further investigation. We will question them to ascertain the motive behind the kidnapping. As of now, the motive is not known.”

The girl is safe and unharmed.