KOCHI: It all started in September 2023 when a migrant couple from Assam living in Ernakulam approached the Chengamanad police station with a complaint that their 14-year-old daughter was missing. The police soon started an investigation to trace the girl. By that time, Ernakulam Rural Police Chief Vaibhav Saxena also came to know about the missing incident and assigned the best policemen at the station to track down the girl. What followed was a relentless pursuit for almost 10 months
“The parents told us their daughter was using a mobile phone. So our primary target was getting the location,” explains Chengamanad Grade Sub-Inspector Balachandran P K.
The police found the phone was switched off near Aluva Railway Station. “So, we checked the Call Data Record (CDR) of the phone number and identified a number from which the missing girl frequently received calls. The live location of the suspected mobile phone was found moving towards West Bengal. After a few days, it was traced from a border village in Malda, West Bengal,” Balachandran says.
By that time, the team gathered details of the person operating the suspected mobile phone number. The number belonged to the accused Muhammad Mushraf who worked at a construction site in Munnar. Further probe revealed that Mushraf befriended the victim through social media platforms. Promising to marry her, he forced the victim to elope from the house. He made the entire plan and even booked train tickets.
Vaibhav formed a three-member team comprising Grade Sub Inspectors Balachandran and Thomas P A, and Senior Civil Police Officer Salim Kumar for further investigation in West Bengal.
“On the fifth day, after the case was reported, we reached Malda. And the sixth day, we traced the village at the India-Bangladesh border where the victim was staying. With the help of the local police, we entered the village and reached the house. We managed to rescue the victim,” he explains. However, the accused had managed to flee after realising that the police team had reached the village. “In her statement, the victim said she was sexually harassed by Mushraf. Thus, we registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.”
The pursuit to nab the 20-year-old accused began then.
After fleeing from the village, Mushraf realised that his mobile phone was being tracked by the police. Soon, he switched off his phone. But though the investigation continued for several months, Mushraf remained underground.
Once again, the police set off to West Bengal as part of the investigation and collecting certificates mandatory in Pocso cases in December 2023, but there were no traces of the accused.
“That’s when we started tracking phone calls received by Mushraf’s relatives. After analysing multiple CDRs, we noticed one number from which the relatives frequently received calls. The location of the phone number showed Sonapur in Maharashtra,” says Balachandran.
The investigation in Sonapur revealed that Mushraf was employed at a plantain farm. “It was a remote area. There were thousands of workers from Bengal and Assam there. So, when we reached the place, he became alert and again managed to give us a slip,” says Balachandran.
“Later, after the arrest, he told us he was hiding on the roof of a five-storied building and watching our movements.”
After facing disappointment thrice in their attempts, the morale of the team also hit bottom. “We realised that the accused is very intelligent. But we know that even intelligent criminals make minor mistakes that give us a breakthrough,” he said.
As hoped, the much-awaited breakthrough came in July this year, after Mushraf turned on his phone after inserting a new SIM card which was taken in the name of Aryan Khan. The location was tracked to Thallada, Khammam in Telangana. By the time, the police team reached Khammam, the mobile phone was again switched off.
Khammam is a naxal-infested area and roaming around as a policeman was a risky affair, Balachandran explains.
“So, we dressed like migrant workers and started collecting information about other migrant worker settlements in the area. After two days, we received information that several workers recently arrived for National Highway construction work and were staying in a village.”
The police guessed that the target was the house in the village where around 10 migrant workers stayed. On the fourth day, the team raided the house.
“Though there was resistance, we managed to identify Mushraf and nab him. As the situation was aggravating, we called for help from the local police. With their help, we shifted him to the nearby police station before bringing him back to Ernakulam,” he said.
Looking back at the operation, Balachandran believes there are also elements of luck that helped them track Mushraf. The accused gained confidence after managing to evade arrest thrice. Also, he was confident that no one would come looking for him in a Naxal-infested area like Khammam.
“No doubt, the luck was also in our favour that Mushraf switched on his mobile phone even though it was with a different SIM card. Now, recollecting the memories of investigating the case, it is a proud feeling for all of us in the team,” Balachandran smiles.