Timely coordination between the Suryapet and Hyderabad police on Sunday helped L. Keerthana, a five-year-old girl, return home a day after she was kidnapped.
The police, who were on their toes in the joint operation, nabbed three persons, and an investigation was launched to find if they were part of a bigger group, including suspected human trafficking network.
According to the Nuthankal police, the operation started with a missing complaint by the girl’s parents, L. Venkanna and Renuka, on Saturday evening. “A biscuit pack bought by the suspects from a store near Chinnanemili x roads, where the girl was lured, was the lead in the case,” they said.
“We inquired about the girl, then we came to know that two men and a woman in pink saree bought her a biscuit pack to stop her crying and they they were going to Hyderabad,” Inspector Ayodhya said.
It was also found that the trio were from the neighbouring Mamillamadava thanda, as told to the shopkeeper, where they had come to cast vote in the gram panchayat elections.
Based on their voter identification and phone numbers, their address in Hyderabad was located in Mansoorabad, where local police were already posted to nab them.
The police said the girl, Keerthana, was handed over to the parents on Sunday evening. The three accused were in custody for interrogation now.
The case was happily resolved for the parents. According to police officials, however, certain details in preliminary findings hint at the suspicion that the accused were not just migrant workers in the city.
District Superintendent of Police R. Venkateswarlu appreciated the staff for their concerted effort.
