Noida news: Three men have been arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of a 15-year-old girl who had gone missing from her residence in Bhangel, Noida, on August 25.
The incident unfolded after an argument with her father, who scolded her for neglecting her studies and confiscated her mobile phone. The concerned father reported her disappearance to the Phase 2 police station on August 26, a day after she left home.
According to police official, the three suspects, aged between 19 and 22, resided in the same neighborhood and had previously attempted to establish contact with the minor. On August 25, they lured the girl to the Kulesara area and subsequently to other locations, allegedly under the pretense of assisting her in leaving her home.
The police conducted a thorough examination of CCTV footage in the vicinity, leading to the location of the missing girl on Thursday. The three suspects have been arrested and charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Sections 354 (Assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 452 (house-trespass, with preparations for causing harm, assault, etc.), and 363 (kidnapping), in addition to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. They were presented before a local court and subsequently remanded to judicial custody.
A senior police officer noted that the girl’s father had received an extortion call in which the caller demanded money in exchange for information about the girl. Authorities are actively working to trace and apprehend this man.