Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Modern technology and social media played a crucial role in tracing and rescuing missing and abducted minor girls in Bhopal during Operation Muskan. Using electronic surveillance, CCTV footage, social media tracking and manual intelligence, police successfully rescued 69 missing girls in November.
Police teams met families and friends of missing girls, scanned social media accounts, verified thousands of CCTV clips and gathered inputs from informers to track their movements.
In a major case from Bagsewania, a 15-year-old girl who had left home after being scolded by her parents was traced in Chennai. She had boarded a train to Maharashtra but got down when a man tried to lure her. Later, she reached Hyderabad where a woman arranged her a factory job for Rs 2700 a month. Police located her when she uploaded photographs on Instagram with a Tamil-language poster in the background.
In a remarkable achievement, Piplani police traced a woman missing for 12 years. She had run away as a minor with her lover and was untraceable for over a decade. During November, police contacted one of the man's old friends and confirmed her identity using old photographs. Through the man's relatives, the couple, now with children, was located in Chennai.
Left home to become an IAS
A 16-year-old school topper from Bajaria left home in January with just Rs 300 and a few books to pursue her dream of becoming an IAS officer. Frustrated by repeated objections from parents over her studies and interactions, she continued her education while working and staying in a hostel in another city.
Police traced her by scanning hundreds of CCTV cameras and using electronic surveillance. Following court orders ensuring her education would continue uninterrupted, she finally agreed to return home.
The commissioner says
Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra stated 45 cases of missing minor girls were registered in November alone. By reopening old cases and leveraging modern technology, police rescued 69 girls across various stations. He emphasised that technology, social media surveillance, CCTV monitoring and coordinated fieldwork were vital to the operation s success.
