Nagpur: Tempers flied high in city’s Vishwakarma Nagar locality when a 2-year boy was reportedly kidnapped in the morning of Tuesday (February 9). However, a series of confusions over whereabouts of the kid, delayed lodging of a missing complaint with the Ajni police. Residents of the area suspected role of a young girl in the kidnapping of the toddler. However, police have neither confirmed this theory nor denied it. The ransom angle, at present, has been ruled out in the kidnapping case.
The name of the abducted kid has been stated as Shebu alias Raj Ajay Pande.
According to information, father of the kid Ajay Pande is a painter by profession. Marriaed nine years ago, Ajay has three children – two sons and a daughter. Shebu is youngest son. Ajay Pande and his family had shifted to the area just one and half months ago and staying in rented house of Jitu Sarve in Lane No. 7 of Vishwakarma Nagar, just behind Ajni Police Station. Before coming to Nagpur, Ajay Pande was staying in Chennai. He originally hails from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Ajay at present is working at a site in Narendra Nagar.
According to sources, on February 9, around 7 am, Shebu alias Raj was playing in the premises of his house. For some work, Ajay had gone out for domestic work. Shebu’s mother Khushi Pande could not find him but thought that the kid could have been with his father. But when Ajay returned home at about 12 noon and asked about whereabouts of Shebu, he was jolted to the core when Khushi told him that she thought the kid could have been with him. What followed was a frantic search for the 2-year kid. The panicky parents searched Shebu at all possible places but to no avail. Finally, on the advice of neighbours, Ajay and Khushi went to Ajni Police Station for lodging a missing complaint. However, surprisingly, the Ajni cops reportedly told the Pande couple to wait for 12 hours and in the meanwhile again search the kid. Heeding the diktat of cops, Ajay and Khushi returned home and started looking for the missing Shebu again. But when they failed to trace the boy, they again went to Ajni cops. Taking the matter very seriously, Ajni police registered a case under Section 363 of IPC and mounted a massive search operation in the morning of Wednesday to trace the missing Shebu.
When a Nagpur Today scribe went to the spot to ascertain the facts, a stunning revelation came to the fore.
In the past few weeks, residents of the area noticed a 17-18-year old girl wandering in the area suspiciously. The well-dressed girl was often found hobnobbing with kids of the area. But nobody doubted her moves. However, when the Nagpur Today scribe apprised senior police officials about the suspicious girl’s antics, a horde of cops started dashing to the spot and the investigation into the kidnapping of Shebu got momentum. During the intense probe as well as search, the cops noticed clothes, generally worn by young girls, dangling on terrace of a building a few blocks away from Shebu’s house. Apart from clothes, other stuff including make-up box, chappals, and other material were also spotted. This aspect set alarm bells ringing among the investigating cops.
One of the residents of the area informed that the said suspicious girl was seen going to a small girl’s house, named Nandini, and luring her with chocolates, too the kid with her. However, grandmother of Nandini called her back to house. But the suspicious young girl suddenly vanished from the spot in the melee. Now, many residents are coming out and narrating the movements of the girl in the area.
At present, the Ajni cops, led by PI Sandipan Pawar, have launched a hunt to trace the missing Shebu. Police have formed squads and tracing the kid as well as the suspicious young girl. Services of dog squad are also being pressed. Cops are also verifying the statements of residents made about the girl.
