City girl rescued from kidnapper

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JULY 28.

The long distance call made the difference between freedom and captivity for nine-year-old Niloufer.

The call made from Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh spurred police agencies in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh into action, thanks to an attentive STD-booth operator who overheard the ransom call and tipped off the parents in Hyderabad about the girl's location. This made the police forces in the three states alert and the girl was rescued in Budnera town of Maharashtra two days ago.

Niloufer, who went out on an errand, was kidnapped by a middle- aged man, later identified as Osman, near Yousufain Darga, on June 28. The Habeebnagar police, who began investigating the `kidnap', could not trace her as a baker, who saw the girl being taken away, gave a wrong description of the kidnapper. The identikit photo drawn by experts was dissimilar to Osman and put the probe on a wrong trail.

The first breakthrough came on July 21 when the kidnapper called up and demanded a ransom of Rs. 3 lakhs. He made the girl talk to her family members. The abductor told the weeping family members to expect a call in another three days when they would be told where to hand over money. He rang off abruptly after informing them that he was calling from Indore.

That was meant to be a red herring for the police, but the STD booth operator, Mr. Irfan, who overheard the conversation, simply redialled the phone again after Osman and Niloufer left the booth. On being told that the girl was kidnapped, he informed the parents that the girl was in a hotel along with Osman in Burhanpur of Madhya Pradesh and certainly not Indore.

The city police tipped off the Madhya Pradesh police, an ASI was rushed to the hotel. Instead of arresting the kidnapper, he collected some money and let them off. Osman fled Burhanpur, but was nabbed in Budnera town of Maharashtra five days later as the entire railway police forces in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh went on a high alert.

"The arrest would not have been possible without the help of Mr. Irfan and the cooperation extended by the Maharashtra and MP police. The rescue of the girl is indeed satisfying," a beaming Commissioner of Police, Mr. P. Ramulu, said. He has a special word of praise for the DCP, Mr. K. Narasimha Rao, for coordinating the search operation.

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Section  : Southern States
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