Silvester D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur (SP)
Kundapur, Sep 6: The citizens of Maravanthe in the taluk turned jittery after coming to know that a student from the village had gone missing under mysterious circumstances. Apprehension and tension remained in air here for about four hours on the evening of Thursday September 4.
A pre-university student from the village had left home in the morning as usual for attending her college in her uniforms. She reached home much later than her usual time. When her family members and neighbours made enquiries, the girl told them that four youth travelling in a Maruti Omni van had abducted her and taken her to some spot, from where she had succeeded in fleeing and reaching her home with great difficulty.
When questioned further, the student said that her written complaint about girl students being harassed and bullied by some boys had been read out in the special Gram Sabha convened recently for the specific purpose of creating awareness about safety of children and women. In her complaint, she had asked the department to take steps to make the place safer for women and children, and angered by this complaint, some youth had kidnapped her, she explained.
The parents of the girl were taken aback by the turn of events, and promptly filed a complaint in the police station. On taking up the matter for investigation, the police failed to get any clue about the abductors. The case even was referred to state health minister, U T Khadar, by some leaders, after which the minister called up the police and chided them for lethargy in the issue.
The police then hastened their investigation and concentrated on the matter further, and finally realized that they and the general public of Maravanthe had been taken for a ride.
It has transpired that the girl student happens to be in love with a boy from her own religion, who is studying in another college. A Kabaddi team of which her boy friend is a member, was to play a match at a tournament organized at Byndoor on Thursday. On his invitation, the girl had gone to Byndoor to watch this match in her school uniforms. By the time she returned home, it was late. Reportedly, the student conjured up a story to avoid getting scolded by the elders in the family.