Pimpri-Chinchwad turning into kidnapping hotspots
Twin township has seen four kidnap and rescue cases in three months; police commissionerate takes proactive steps
PUNE: Twelve-year-old Maahi Avadh Jain was kidnapped from near her house, Queenstown, in Chinchwad in broad daylight on November 15. While the girl was rescued within 10 hours, Pimpri-Chinchwad has seen a rise in kidnapping cases.
While missing cases are also recorded under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), cases of kidnapping for ransom, have seen a spike in the area that now has its own police commissionerate.
Wakad police rescued a five-year-old boy, who was kidnapped from the parking area of a residential society in Thergaon early in November this year, from Chinchwad railway station. Two men, identified as Mohammad Shakeel Saleem Khan (32), a resident of Virar in Mumbai, and Shahrukh Miraj Khan (26) of Mahalaxmi complex in Walhekarwadi, Chinchwad, were arrested for the crime. The duo had demanded Rs 5 lakh for the child’s release. The demand was made through a phone call to the child’s father who used to work with one of the kidnappers.
In another incident, two engineering graduates who had spent some time in Pune, had gained access to the working hours and whereabouts of a 21-year-old girl from Wakad and had threatened to abduct her. They had demanded Rs 5 lakh from the victim’s parents.
The police had nabbed the abductors, identified as Rohit Vinod Yadav, 28, and Abhinav Satish Mishra, 27, both residents of Delhi, when they had come to the decided spot to collect the ransom on September 22 this year.
Again in the same month, seven-year-old Om Kharat was kidnapped by men known to his parents in Pimpri-Chinchwad.
After securing safe custody of the boy, son of a factory owner, police launched a manhunt and arrested the kidnappers identified as Akshay Kashinath Jamdare, 21, a casual factory worker hailing from Beed and his debtridden, Pune-based associate, Roshan Nandkumar Shinde, 20.
Police chief wants more eyes on streets
Pimpri-Chinchwad police have raised the issue of security lapses that go unreported, or are committed by residents, following the incident of kidnap and rescue of 12-year-old Maahi Avadh Jain last week.
The series of events that led to the crime and subsequent rescue of the victim brought to light the need for stricter enforcement of security protocols in shops, schools and residential areas.
“A society is like a modern day village,” said RK Padmanabhan, commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad police, before stating the importance of safety procedures.
He emphasised the need to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in and around every shop and residential area.
“The small investment at one time goes a long way in ensuring public safety. These cameras do not even cost much these days. The footage captured by CCTVs helps us in investigations,” he said.
In several cases, he said, the CCTV cameras are not maintained even after installing them. In the light of the Queenstown kidnapping, the police chief also urged parents to train their children about what to do in difficult situations. He complimented Mahi’s presence of mind due to which she refused to eat anything the two kidnappers were offering.
He then said that schoolchildren need to be dropped at the gates of the residence or residential buildings. The school buses, for the lack of space and various other reasons, including convenience, are seen dropping childing off in areas close to the child’s house.
The police chief urged home owners to check the credentials of the person they are renting their house to. Not only police verification, but also other rent documents like a written agreement and tenant registration should be put in place.