48 hours on, no trace of teenager kidnapped from Greater Noida

Multiple teams of surveillance, cyber cell, and city police are working to trace the teenager. Police are looking at all angles to get close to the suspects

Forty-eight hours of extensive search by the Greater Noida police failed to locate the 15-year-old boy, who was allegedly kidnapped by a group of people from outside an eatery (dhaba) in Greater Noida’s Beta 2 on Wednesday around 2.30pm, police officers said.

The white car in which the boy was allegedly kidnapped on Wednesday from Greater Noida’s Beta 2 sector. Police said they could not trace the car as it had a fake numberplate. (HT Photo)

According to police, teenager Kunal Sharma is a resident of a Mayana village in Rabupura and the son of a dhaba owner. A class 8 drop-out, he was helping his father run the dhaba in Accher area in Beta 2 locality, outside of which he was kidnapped on Wednesday, said police.

Kunal’s father Krishna Kumar Sharma said, “I was at home when he was kidnapped. As soon as I received information, I rushed to the dhaba and tried to search for him. I was informed by my workers that a woman had approached Kunal at the dhaba, and led him to a car, and made off with him. Then, I approached the police,” said Sharma, adding that he doesn’t know anything about the conversation between Kunal and the woman, and none of his workers heard what they said.”

“I suspect that a Delhi-based family might be involved in the incident. My daughter’s wedding was scheduled for May 10, but when the groom’s family demanded a dowry of ₹10 lakh, a car, and gold ornaments, I broke off the alliance on April 27.”

“They threatened me with dire consequences on April 29, and after two days, my son has been kidnapped. We are also trying to get details from the police, but they did not divulge any information,” said Sharma.

Munendra Singh, station house officer, Beta 2, said, “On the basis of their allegation, we are interrogating the family of the groom. No one has been detained yet and the car used in the kidnapping is also untraceable.”

“Multiple teams of surveillance, cyber cell, and city police are working to trace the teenager. We are looking at all angles to get close to the suspects,” said Ashok Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

“On Wednesday around 2.20pm, a woman approached the dhaba of the victim and asked him to sit in the car. After some discussion, he left dhaba and boarded in a white car, parked outside the dhaba,” said an officer requesting anonymity, adding that Kunal’s phone is switched off since then.

A CCTV footage of the incident was also widely shared on social media, of a white car parked on the roadside. A woman is seen walking parallel to Kunal, and boarding the car after him. Later, a man in white clothes standing close to the car also boards it, and they leave.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

On the complaint of Kunal’s father, a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the unidentified accused at Beta-2 police station on Thursday and further investigations are underway.