3 girls missing from Vasai found in Tungareshwar, were lured to go on a picnic

Police said the two suspects are alleged to have lured the three girls to accompany them for a day-long picnic in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Three girls, two of them sisters, from Vasai who were reported missing on January 3 morning have been recovered from a hut in the Tungareshwar forest on Friday and restored to their family, police said.

A kidnapping case was registered by the Manikpur police on Wednesday after the family complained that the three girls were missing. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A 19-year-old man and a minor, both employees of the father of two sisters, have been taken into custody. Police said the 19-year-old accused’s grandmother lived in the hut from where the children were recovered.

Police said the two are alleged to have lured the three; two sisters aged 13 and 15, and the 16-year-old girl who helped the family with the housework and lived with the two sisters, to accompany them to a day-long picnic to Mumbai 50km away.

“We are recording the statements of the girls to find out more about the incident. The girls have been sent to their house in Vasai gaon,” a police officer said.

A kidnapping case was registered by the Manikpur police on Wednesday after the family complained that the three girls were missing.

The mother of the two sisters, a school teacher, told the police on Wednesday that the three girls were asleep when she checked on them past midnight. But the three were missing when she went to wake them up at 5:30am and the house’s rear door was open.

The Manikpur police were able to spot the girls along with the two male employees on CCTV footage at the Borivali station on Wednesday evening.

The girls then boarded a train to Virar and were found exiting the Nalasopara railway station and taking a rickshaw to Tungareshwar temple. Police officers tracked down the rickshaw driver who identified the location where he dropped the group of boys and girls. An extensive search in the area led the police team to the hut.