Mumbai: A video of a Mumbai Police officer giving chocolates to a 5-year-old girl after reuniting her with her mother is winning hearts.
According to a report, police had already arrested five people in connection with the alleged kidnapping, including the girl’s maternal uncle and aunt. Sharing the reunion video, Mumbai Police wrote, “In a case involving the kidnapping and trafficking of a 5-year-old girl, officers from Vakola Police Station located the girl in Panvel and successfully apprehended five accused.” The department further stated, “Investigation revealed that the girl’s maternal uncle and aunt kidnapped her in the middle of the night and sold her for ₹90,000. The buyer then sold the girl to another person for ₹180,000.”
In the video, a woman brings the girl inside the police station and hands her over to her mother. The two are then seen embracing each other tightly. A police officer present at the scene gives the girl a packet of Cadbury Celebrations. He then pats her head. The video was widely liked on social media. Many people shared clapping emojis, while others reacted with heart emoticons. Some even praised the Mumbai Police.
What happened?
According to a report, the child’s mother reported the kidnapping to the Vakola police. Police then registered a case under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
For two days, police scanned CCTV footage and acted on tips to identify the suspects. An officer from the Vakola police station said, “We received information that a motorcyclist and two other suspects were patrolling the area with the couple who kidnapped the girl.”
Eventually, they made a few more arrests, and their interrogation revealed that the child’s maternal uncle, Lawrence Nichols Fernandes, 42, and aunt, Mangal Dagdu Jadhav, 38, were also involved, according to a report. “We have arrested all those involved in the kidnapping and sale of the girl,” the officer said.
