A nine-year-old Surat girl who went missing on October 24 was traced to an Andheri orphanage in Mumbai after a 15-day search using CCTV footage and technical surveillance across railway stations, police said. She was brought back to Surat and reunited with her family after the necessary legal formalities were completed.
The girl had left her home in the Amroli police station area at around 7 am without informing her family. According to police, she had gone out to play without telling her elder sister, who later scolded her. The girl became upset and left home without informing any family member.
Her family subsequently filed a complaint, following which Amroli police registered an FIR under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to kidnapping. The police began checking CCTV footage from the station’s jurisdiction and railway locations linked to the girl’s possible route.
Amroli police inspector J B Vanar and his team examined footage from several railway stations. Technical surveillance indicated that the girl had boarded a train travelling towards Mumbai. Investigators then checked around 70 CCTV cameras at railway stations in Vapi, Bandra and Borivli, among other locations.
The footage established that the girl had alighted at Borivli railway station. An Amroli police team was sent to Mumbai to trace her. During the investigation, police learnt that Railway Protection Force personnel had found the girl at the station and that she was subsequently staying at the AD Bawla orphanage in Andheri West.
The case highlights the role of railway-station surveillance in tracing a missing child across city and state boundaries. The investigation involved the use of footage from multiple stations along the Surat-Mumbai rail corridor, followed by coordination between the Amroli police team, railway personnel and the Mumbai-based orphanage.
After completing the required legal procedures, the police team brought the girl back to Surat. Police said she was counselled before being safely reunited with her family.
