Bihar man held for kidnap, sexual assault of minor he met over Instagram

Mumbai: A 23-year-old man was arrested by the Aarey Colony Police from Bihar for kidnapping a minor girl from Mumbai and sexually assaulting her. The investigation was complex as the girl performed a factory reset on her mother’s phone, erasing all traces of her conversation with the accused over Instagram. A case was registered by the police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Police said the accused did odd jobs in Delhi for a living and met the 17-year-old girl over Instagram. The two would chat frequently and he visited her in Mumbai on one occasion. On April 20, the girl left her residence to purchase books, but did not return. Her parents looked for her and eventually approached the police.

In accordance with Supreme Court guidelines, police registered a case of kidnapping as the victim is a minor. While looking for clues, the police learnt that the girl was using her mother’s phone to access the internet and social media sites. But she performed a factory reset on the phone before leaving the house and so officials couldn’t find her chat conversations on the phone.

After quizzing her friends, police learnt that one of them had taken a picture of her and the accused during his trip to Mumbai in the past. The friend had advised the girl to stay away from the accused. He then received threats online from an unknown Instagram user. Police began finding out who the Instagram user was. They got a Delhi address and phone number.

On reaching Delhi, police learnt that the accused had left town with the girl. They traced his brother, who led them to his hometown in Samastipur, Bihar. After days of tracking the accused’s whereabouts, the police team, supervised by DCP Mahesh Chimte and senior inspector Ravindra Patil, apprehended him from Bihar. The girl was rescued and reunited with her parents.

On making inquiries with the girl, it was learnt that the accused first took her to Vasai, where she was sexually assaulted. Further, he took her to Delhi and then to Bihar, after making promises of marriage.