Thane Teen, Pulled Into Car, Goes Missing After 'Garba' Event

Thane: A 17-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped by her two neighbours in Maharashtra’s Thane district while she was returning home from a ‘garba’ dance event during the ongoing Navratri festival, police said today.

The girl, a resident of Rameshwadi locality in Badlapur township in Thane, went along with some relatives to enjoy the dance at a ‘pandal’ set up in their locality last night, Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said.

After the event, when she was walking back home along with her maternal aunt and cousin sister, two men came in a car and caught hold of her. They pulled her into the vehicle and sped away, the police spokesperson said.

The aunt then informed the girl’s parents about the incident. She also identified the two men as the girl’s neighbours, Ms Narkar said.

The parents searched the neighbourhood for the girl, but when they were unable to trace her, they registered a police complaint against their two neighbours at the Badlapur police station in the early hours of Wednesday morning, she said.

Police teams are trying to trace the girl, Ms Narkar said. A search is also under way to find and arrest the two accused, who have been charged under section 363 (kidnapping) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, she added.