Kidnapped 16-yr-old Assam girl rescued, youth arrested

A 16-year-old girl, who was kidnapped from Assam’s Sonitpur district in August 2011, was rescued from central Delhi and reunited with her family on Friday, police said.

A 22-year-old man, Mintu Saikia, who also hails from Assam, has been arrested over the case and faces charges of kidnapping a minor girl, said Devesh Chandra Srivastva, additional commissioner of police (central).

“Mintu had met the girl during the All Assam Dance Competition in Jorhat. He then enticed the girl to elope with him to Delhi, but later when he began facing a money crunch, he resorted to blackmailing the victim’s parents,” Srivastva added.

Srivastva said the action was taken after Assam Police sought help from Delhi Police on Wednesday.

“We were told that a minor girl had been kidnapped by the accused person and a case was registered at Jorhat police station. They suspected that Mintu, along with the victim were somewhere in the national capital,” he said.

The Assam Police initially believed that it was a case of elopement in a love affair, as the girl had not contacted her parents even after a lapse of four months.

Her parents doubted Mintu, who was also missing from the date of the incident.

However, on January 17, after a gap of over five months, the girl’s mother received a phone call from a person, who identified himself as Mintu and made the victim talk to her.During the conversation, it was revealed that the victim was confined in a room and was not allowed to talk to anyone or go anywhere outside. 

During another conversation, the victim told her mother that the accused was demanding Rs 1 lakh for her release.

“On the basis of technical surveillance, we found that Mintu was residing in Okhla. Later, with concerted efforts and on the basis of a tip-off, the accused was apprehended along with the victim outside New Delhi Railway Station when they were going to board a train,” Srivastva said.