Bengaluru/Ranchi, Jan 16 (IANS): In a dramatic turn of events, two sisters from Hindpiri, Ranchi, were safely rescued from Karnataka after being kidnapped in connection with a love affair. Five individuals involved in the incident have been arrested.
The case came to light when an FIR for the kidnapping of the girls was filed on January 11, causing widespread concern in Ranchi.
At a press conference here on Thursday, Ranchi SSP Chandan Kumar Sinha gave details of the intricacies of the case.
According to SSP Sinha, the main accused, Mohammad Ismail, a resident of Raichur, Karnataka, was in a relationship with Rahnuma Parveen. Ismail manipulated Rahnuma and her younger sister was made into becoming accomplice in his plan.
To mislead the police and their family, the younger sister called their father, claiming that an auto driver was forcibly taking them away and had snatched their phones and purses. Immediately after this call, the sisters' phones were switched off. However, investigations revealed that this call was stage managed to confuse the police.
The police initially searched jungle and hilly terrains based on phone location but faced challenges as the accused destroyed their phones and SIM cards. They started using new phones without SIMs, relying on railway Wi-Fi and mobile hotspots for communication.
The sisters were taken from Ranchi in an Alto car to Chitarpur in Jharkhand, then to Koderma, and subsequently traveled by train through Gaya (Bihar), Varanasi, and finally to Karnataka.
With assistance from Karnataka's ADG and local police, the girls were rescued, and the accused were arrested. Those apprehended include Mohammad Ismail (Raichur, Karnataka), Junaid Alam (Hindpiri, Ranchi), Qasid Feroz and Mazhar Alam (Chitarpur, Ramgarh) and Imran Khan (Garhwa).
Recovered items include an Alto car, a scooty, five mobile phones, and fake Aadhaar cards.
The successful operation involved a dedicated police team led by DSP Prakash Soy, K.B. Raman, trainee DSP Dusru Ban Singh, Prabhat Kumar Singh, Kotwali police station in-charge Adikant Mahato, Hindpiri police station in-charge Sunil Kushwaha, and 21 other officers.
SSP Sinha announced that the team would be rewarded for their swift and commendable work.