Ahmedabad, Aug 14 (IANS) The Railway Protection Force (RPF) Ahmedabad on Friday rescued two minor girls who were allegedly abducted from Jodhpur and arrested two men suspected of taking them to Bengaluru, after tracing their movements through digital evidence and coordinating with Jodhpur Police.
The action was carried out under ‘Operation Seva’ following information received by the RPF Ahmedabad Division from Kudi Bhagtasni Police Station in Jodhpur City about two missing minor girls who were believed to have travelled by train.
The RPF Inspector at Ahmedabad immediately formed a team comprising Sub-Inspector Sonu Kumar, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ritesh Yadav and other personnel.
During a check of Train No. 20693, the Jodhpur-KSR Bengaluru Express, at Ahmedabad Railway Station, the team identified one of the girls.
The man accompanying her attempted to flee but was chased and apprehended by the RPF personnel. Before being caught, he allegedly threw his mobile phone, from which messages and call records had been deleted, out of the train.
Police later recovered the phone at Nadiad Railway Station. RPF personnel restored relevant data from the recovered device and obtained the second accused’s mobile number.
With assistance from Jodhpur Police, his live location was traced, leading to his arrest along with the second minor girl on Platform No. 1 of Ahmedabad Railway Station.
During preliminary questioning, the accused allegedly told the police that they had befriended the girls through social media and gaming platforms.
They had allegedly planned to bring the girls from their homes and travel with them to Bengaluru from Jodhpur Railway Station.
A fake e-Aadhaar card in the name of “Aryan” and photographs of the minor girls’ Aadhaar cards were also recovered from the accused’s mobile phones.
The accused were identified as 24-year-old Aaqib Ansari and Syed Ibrahim, both residents of Bengaluru.
DRM Ahmedabad Ved Prakash said the safety of passengers, particularly children and women, was the railway’s highest priority.
He said the RPF team’s prompt response, vigilance and coordination after receiving the information had helped secure the safe rescue of the girls.
He also highlighted the role of digital technology and coordination between security agencies in the operation.
Sr. DSC Ahmedabad Anshuman Tripathi said the RPF team had acted immediately after receiving the information under Operation Seva. “Technical and digital evidence helped trace the first accused, while information recovered from his mobile phone enabled the team to locate the second accused,” he said.
He attributed the successful rescue to coordination with Jodhpur Police and said the Ahmedabad RPF remained committed to the safety of children and passengers on railway premises.
The two girls and the two accused were brought to the RPF Post at Ahmedabad. After Kudi Bhagtasni Police Station in Jodhpur City was informed, the girls and the accused were handed over to GRP Ahmedabad through a written memorandum for further legal action and subsequent transfer to the concerned Jodhpur police authorities.
The operation involved RPF Ahmedabad, GRP Ahmedabad and Jodhpur Police, with the agencies using digital evidence and location tracking to trace the accused and recover the girls before they could be taken out of the state.
–IANS
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