StoryInfinity for Daijiworld

Mangaluru, Jun 10: Unable to trace her younger brother, a 10-year-old girl concocted his kidnap story, sending the police into a tizzy. The Mangaluru city police that has been quelling 'fake-news' on child kidnapping, swiftly responded, only to find itself on a wild-goose chase. The incident happened on Friday June 8.

In the backdrop of the two-day 'rain' holiday declared by the Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner on Friday, a 10-year-old and her 7-year-old sibling, natives of Shivamogga had to return to an apartment where their mother worked as a domestic help. The mother cautioned the girl who is the elder of the duo, to take care of her brother as they headed to the ground floor of the apartment to play.

A while later, the girl who was engrossed in talking to her friend was unable to trace her brother. Coincidently her mother who was switching to the next house for the daily chores casually enquired about her son's whereabouts. The girl fearing rebuke of her mother told her that he was kidnapped by an unknown men. Further she told her mother that she had barely escaped the abduction attempt by having jumped out of the car.

The panic-struck mother immediately informed flat residents who in turn informed the Mangaluru city police. The officials who arrived at the spot spoke to the 5th standard girl with the aid of a woman-sub inspector. While the girl initially repeated the kidnap version to the police, when they asked her specific questions such as the colour, make of the car, the dress of the abductors - there was a lot of inconsistency in her statement, an official said. "Given the kind of abduction rumours on social media doing rounds, we took the case with utmost seriousness. But here there was no sign of struggles on the girl's body or clothes, which made us doubt her statement," a sub-inspector said.

Meanwhile, even as the official were enquiring the matter on site, the 7-year-old 'kidnapped' boy, unaware of the developments walked from another direction towards his mother and his sister. Relieved, the girl broke down and admitted that she faked the story fearing rebuke from her mother and her father - who is a security guard.

While the police personnel did not lodge any complaint, they advised the parents not to act in a high-handed manner with their children, which could make them act hostile such as as in the present circumstances.