Maharashtra: School girl goes missing from Thane with no traces for 3 days, parents seek Shinde's help

A large number of citizens on Wednesday thronged Dy CM Shinde's residence in Thane city seeking his intervention in tracing the girl. Shinde immediately called up the police and gave them instructions to intensify the search for her

A 14-year-old schoolgirl went missing from near Thane railway station three days ago, leading police to file a case of kidnapping and launch a search for her, an official said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.

The girl was spotted coming out of her school at around 12:55 pm on Monday and heading towards Thane railway station, instead of home, and then disappearing midway, the official said.

Her worried parents launched a search after their daughter did not reach home and later lodged a police complaint. The parents also met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, an MLA from Thane city, and sought his intervention to locate the teenager, stated PTI.

An officer with the Thane Nagar police station said based on the complaint, a case of kidnapping under section 137 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered on Monday against unidentified person/s.

The official stated that a search has been launched to trace the girl.

Meanwhile, a large number of citizens on Wednesday thronged the residence of Shinde in Thane city seeking his intervention in tracing the girl, stated PTI.

Shinde immediately called up the police after the girl's parents met him and gave them instructions to intensify the search for her, a source from her family told the media.

One of the local residents said if the girl was not traced forthwith, people will take out a 'morcha' (march) to put pressure on the police administration.

Some members of the group cited CCTV footage, which they said, showed the girl walking alone on a bridge with a man and a woman following her. She is thereafter seen at Panvel railway station, around 40 km from Thane city, they claimed, reported PTI.

However, the police were yet to comment on the CCTV footage.

Thane court acquits gangster, four others in murder bid and extortion case

A Thane court has acquitted gangster Suresh Pujari and four others charged under the stringent MCOCA in a case of attempt to murder and extortion from a hotelier in 2017, noting the prosecution's case had "major inconsistencies", reported news agency PTI.

Since the prosecution failed to prove the basic offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the accused are also entitled to the benefit of the doubt for the offence under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), special court judge Amit M Shete said in the order on February 1, reported PTI.

The prosecution failed to establish the accused's involvement in the case beyond a reasonable doubt, said the Thane court order, a copy of which was made available on Wednesday, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI) 

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