Drunk worker walks away with toddler, triggers night-long search

Nagpur: A tense five-hour night-long search operation involving police, villagers and local communities to trace a two-year-old girl, who was feared kidnapped, in Kalmeshwar area of Nagpur district ended in a dramatic manner after the toddler was found safe in a parked bus in the the early hours of Saturday. The accused, a 27-year-old migrant labourer from Madhya Pradesh, Mukesh Dhurve, had passed out in a drunken stupor with the child by his side in the bus, from where he was nabbed and the minor was rescued. Childless Dhurve bonded with the minor, which helped him take her away, said a cop. Dhurve has been arrested.
The drama began around 7pm-8pm on Friday in Kotwal Bardi Colony under Kalmeshwar Police Station limits. Dhurve, who resides in the same colony, approached the toddler's mother offering to rock the child or take her to play, assuring of a quick return. When hours passed without any sign of the child or Dhurve, panic set in. The family searched the area frantically but found no trace.Police swung into action after the family dialled the emergency 112 helpline around 10pm on Friday. SP, Nagpur rural, Harssh A Poddar mobilised multiple teams. Officers from Kalmeshwar police station, Nagpur Rural police, the Local Crime Branch, and village wardens (police patil) were deployed. While addl SP Anil Mhaske monitored the situation, sub-divisional police officer Sagar Kharde took charge in the field.Checkpoints were established on major highways. Buses, motorcycles and carrier vehicles were thoroughly searched. The search extended to neighbouring Amravati, Wardha, Chandrapur and Bhandara districts and even Seoni, Pandhurna, Chhindwara, and Dhurve's native Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh. Teams also rushed to Nagpur railway station and Ganeshpeth bus stand to check CCTV footage.The child's photographs was circulated on WhatsApp groups, and residents joined the hunt armed with torches and headlamps. Fields, drains, temples, and surrounding areas were combed through the night.In the meanwhile, Dhurve wandered with the child for 6-7 kms on foot in an inebriated condition. At Dorli village in Kalmeshwar, he entered a parked empty bus deployed for a company, curled up beside the child, and fell asleep, said sources. He had grabbed a shawl from a parked bike and wrapped it around the child. When the bus driver arrived around 6am on Saturday for his shift, he was shocked to find a man and a child sleeping. A viral photo of Dhurve and the toddler helped the driver identify them. He immediately alerted police.Officers rushed to the spot, nabbed Dhurve, who was still intoxicated, and rescued the toddler. The girl looked stunned but showed no signs of injury or distress, said police. A thorough medical examination confirmed the child suffered no sexual or physical assault. She was reunited with her mother, who broke down in tears of joy and gratitude.Dhurve was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for kidnapping. Police are questioning him to find out the motive or whether he has any criminal history.