Teenager kidnapped in Greater Noida: 24 hours on, police still have no leads

Although cameras in the vicinity captured images of a white car, its registration number plate turned out to be a fake

Even after scanning through the footage of nearly 500 CCTV cameras over the past 24 hours, the Greater Noida police has been unable to find any leads into the alleged kidnapping of a 15-year-old son of a businessman, senior officers involved with the investigation admitted on Thursday.

The white car in which the boy was kidnapped from outside a dhaba in Accher area in Beta 2, Greater Noida, on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

According to the police, the boy was kidnapped allegedly by a group of people, including a woman, in a car from outside his father’s eatery (dhaba) in Greater Noida on Wednesday afternoon.

There has been no demand for a ransom so far, said police.

Although cameras in the vicinity captured images of the white car, its registration number plate turned out to be a fake and its last location was identified near Kasna Chowk in Greater Noida, senior officers said.

According to police, the victim -- Kunal Sharma, 15, a resident of a Mayana village in Rabupura, was a Class 8 drop-out. After leaving school, he was helping his father run the dhaba in Accher area in Beta 2 locality of Greater Noida, police said.

Narrating the sequence of events, an investigator involved in the probe said, “On Wednesday around 2.20pm, a woman approached the dhaba where Sharma worked and asked him to come and sit in the car. After some discussion, Sharma left the dhaba and boarded the white car, parked outside the dhaba.”

Police said Sharma’s phone has remained switched off since then.

A CCTV footage of the incident was also widely shared on social media platforms, showing a white car was parked on the roadside.

Moments later, a woman walks parallel to Sharma, and boards 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 by Sharma’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 three teams were formed to trace the minor,” said assistant commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Ram Krishna Tiwari.

“Due to presence of fewer CCTV cameras in Greater Noida, police are facing difficulties in ascertaining the route that the car took after leaving the dhaba. On the basis of Sharma’s family’s suspicions, we are interrogating a few people, but we have not found their involvement in the matter yet,” the officer added.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (Great Noida) Ashok Kumar shared that during investigation the victim’s family members revealed that Sharma’s sister’s marriage was fixed with a man in Delhi.

“But after some dispute, they alliance was called off. We are interrogating that angle too,” the officer added.