Reprimanded by parents, an agitated 12-year-old girl ran away from home on Sunday, leaving her parents in a state of shock and despair. Despite not carrying a mobile phone – as the location tracking feature would have saved the cops from sweating for eight hours – the minor was traced and safely reunited with her parents the same day.
According to the cops from the MHB police station, the girl had a minor altercation with her parents after which she left the home. As she didn't return for long, the worried parents approached the police without wasting a moment.
As per the provision, a kidnapping case has to be filed right away in the case of a missing child under the age of 16 years. After registering the case, the cops along with the Nirbhaya squad – a police team dedicated to women safety – started the hunt for the girl. “We started scanning all the CCTV cameras in the nearby areas and along the railway stations from Dahisar to Mulund. Finally, the girl was spotted after eight hours at the Borivali railway station,” said Senior Police Inspector Sudhir Kudhalkar.
Fortunately, the girl didn't board a long-distance train as it would have been difficult to trace her as she wasn't carrying a mobile phone, said the police, “We reached on time and safely returned the girl back to her family, but this may not happen every time. The youth nowadays do not think twice before just leaving the house or making rash decisions. They should not get influenced by social media,” said the cop. This case is also an example for the parents that they should pay more attention to their children and try to build a bond with them to avoid such incidents, he underscored.
