Dressing the part, cops on Mission Goa to trail Shruti

Concealing their identity with long robes, rosaries and cowboy hats, a crack team of the Punjab Police is currently roaming in Goa, trailing 15-year-old Shruti Sachdeva and her alleged abductor Nishan Singh.

Concealing their identity with long robes, rosaries and cowboy hats, a crack team of the Punjab Police is currently roaming in Goa, trailing 15-year-old Shruti Sachdeva and her alleged abductor Nishan Singh.

HT Image

Shruti was allegedly abducted by Nishan Singh (19) and his five accomplices from Faridkot on September 24. While the police have nabbed some of the accused who had allegedly helped Nishan in abducting Shruti from her house in the presence of her parents, the prime culprit, Nishan, has been able to outsmart the Punjab Police.

Top police sources said Nishan had left behind some indelible clues while on the run towards South India.

Two days ago, a team of cops, including women personnel, air-dashed to Goa with cash aplenty and clothes of Western tinge galore. “The brief given to this team, selected carefully, was that it should first slip into concealing outfits and melt in the crowd of Western tourists,” a well-placed government source disclosed.

The initial chase was inspiring as a few hours after taking their positions in a particular area of Goa, the police team sent back a message of having spotted Nishan in a crowded place. “But cops lost track of Nishan while chasing him,” police sources said.

While some cops have been staying in hotels of that particular area where Nishan was seen, other team members are keeping a hawk’s eye on low-cost guesthouses there, sources said.

During the investigation and interrogation of those arrested, it came to the fore that the day Nishan allegedly abducted Shruti on September 24, he, along with the girl, boarded a bus and came to Ludhiana before going to Goa. “After the abduction, the accused, with the help of his accomplices, bought clothes and shoes for Shruti and then travelled in bus,” police sources said.