Four-year-old girl kidnapped, found loitering at GMCH

NAGPUR: Four-year-old Shraddha Savarne was abducted by two bikers at 4pm from near her house, after being lured away with the promise of seeing pigeons, on Wednesday. Fortunately, she was found safe but roaming around alone, in front of Ward no. 33 of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), some four hours later.
Lakadganj police and crime branch teams had alerted all cops throughout the city via wireless messages and social networking sites, which helped trace the girl.Cops are yet to find any motive for the kidnapping.
A woman security guard at GMCH found the girl roaming alone, and informed the cops. They cross checked her photo with her mother Geeta, and handed over the girl to the family. The security guard told cops that she had seen the minor with an unknown man, who later left her alone in front of the ward.
Lakadganj police have registered offence of kidnapping against the two unknown abductors on a complaint by Arun, Shraddha’s father. Teams have been formed under the guidance of zone III DCP Rahul Maknikar to search for the accused.
Shraddha, a student of KG-I, was playing with her elder brother Yash (5), along with other kids, in front of a cattle shed, some 50 meters away from her house at Hattinala-Lakdapool, Old Mangalwari, at 4pm. Two motorcyclists approached the children and asked Shraddha and Yash to sit on their bike, promising to show the brother-sister some pigeons.
Cops said Yash refused to get on the bike but Shraddha was taken up by the pillion rider, and driven away. Yash ran home and narrated the episode to Geeta, who immediately informed Arun, a sweeper in NMC. Neighbours too started searching for Shraddha and the girl’s parents reached the police station.
All crime branch units were immediately alerted to trace girl. ACP Ashwini Patil and senior PI Santosh Khandekar too reached the spot along with various squads.
Police questioned Arun and Geeta to find out if they had any rivalries. Cops fear it might be a case of enmity, since an offence of murder had been registered against Arun in 1998.
Cops had also started looking at CCTV cameras in the locality and on Central Avenue, but in vain. Squads were deployed at checkpoints and public places to intercept the bikers. The DCP said all CCTV footage in GMCH and outside the hospital would be checked during investigations.