Kolkata: Four class 9 girls, who went missing from north Kolkata, were rescued by Amherst Street Police and Asansol Govt Railway Police on Thursday night. The girls, who fled their homes fearing parental backlash after visiting a local cafe, were tracked down to Asansol station within 12 hours of their disappearance.
When the teens failed to return home from school, their family members alerted the cops. By recording statements of classmates and scanning social media activity, investigators discovered that one girl was in contact with a youth from Mumbai via Instagram. Further probe revealed that the man was at Asansol for a wedding. Simultaneously, another lead suggested a connection to a friend in Hyderabad.
"The breakthrough came when one of the girls used a stranger's phone to contact the friend from Hyderabad. The friend from Hyderabad then shared an audio clip with us. In the background, we could hear the rumble of a train and a girl mentioning the need to find a hotel. That confirmed they were near a railway junction," said an officer.
While tracing the girls' location, cops also found a CCTV footage from Howrah Station which confirmed the girls had entered a restroom in their school uniforms and left in casual attire to avoid detection.
Kolkata police team, assisted by ASI Jugal Kishor De of Asansol GRP, found the four girls near Asansol station. Their distress was compounded when the Mumbai-based youth they intended to meet reportedly met with an accident while scouting for accommodation.