LUCKNOW: The mystery of a missing minor girl from Kaushambi, whose “body" was recovered in March by the district police, was found alive and traced to a locality in Gujarat while she was in touch with the family through social media.
The family of the girl had earlier claimed that the unclaimed ‘body’ found by the police in March was that of the missing minor and had even given their blood samples for DNA profiling to match it. The DNA report is still awaited.
However, the mystery was unravelled on Tuesday when the district police, during investigations, found that the missing minor had been in touch with her brother through Instagram video calls.
As per Rajesh Kumar, SP Kaushambi, a woman approached Kokhraj police with a complaint of the kidnapping of her minor daughter, accusing one Vishnu Kumar of eloping with her on March 17. After receiving the complaint, Kokhraj police registered an FIR under Sections 137 (2) and 87 of BNS (kidnapping and compelling for marriage) and started an investigation.
In the meantime, the body of an unidentified girl, aged 16-17, was recovered on a railway track between Bidanpur and Bharwari railway stations on March 18. Since the identity of the girl could not be ascertained despite several attempts, police performed the last rites of the body under the unclaimed category after 72 hours following the laid rules and regulations.
As the family members got wind of it, they accused Kokhraj police of performing the last rites without their consent and created a ruckus in Kokhraj town. As per the police officer, the Kokhraj police pacified the family and convinced them to provide their DNA samples to match them with the deceased girl whose DNA sample was already preserved. The samples were dispatched to a forensic laboratory, and the report was awaited.
However, the family then got an FIR lodged against two youths for kidnapping and killing their daughter.
During the investigation, cops discovered that the missing girl was making video calls to her brother through Instagram. After gathering adequate evidence, the police authorities summoned her brother for questioning and he admitted that he was in touch with his sister, who was staying at an unknown location.
Through electronic surveillance, the police managed to recover the missing girl near Terimod, Shahzadpur, in Kaushambi itself on June 29, after finding her locations first in Gujarat and then in Pune.
As per sources, the family fabricated the entire kidnapping and killing drama to settle scores with the youths named in the FIR.