E-Paper
Police arrest migrant beggars for abduction of minor girl
A police investigation into the abduction of a two-year-old girl from the Wonder City slum area in Katraj on July 26 has led to the arrest of at least five accused who are largely migrant beggars from the Pardhi community who abducted the child for begging purposes during festivals and pilgrimages.
A police investigation into the abduction of a two-year-old girl from the Wonder City slum area in Katraj on July 26 has led to the arrest of at least five accused who are largely migrant beggars from the Pardhi community who abducted the child for begging purposes during festivals and pilgrimages.
The accused have been identified as Sunil Bhosale, 51; Shankar Pawar, 50; and Shalubai Kale, 45 – all of whom hail from Pardhi Vasti in Tuljapur, Dharashiv district. Their interrogation led to the arrest of two more accused namely Ganesh Pawar, 35, also from Pardhi Vasti in Tuljapur; and Mangal Kale, 19, from Pune.
The arrested accused are believed to be part of a larger network of beggars who travel frequently between religious destinations that draw crowds such as Pandharpur and Alandi during the annual Wari and Pune during the Ganesh festival to earn money through organised begging. The accused allegedly kidnap young children to accompany them while begging so as to gain public sympathy and increase their earnings. The two-year-old girl from the Katraj slum was similarly abducted the night of July 26 following which her father lodged a police complaint. The girl is one of his twin daughters, the police said.
Rahulkumar Khilare, senior police inspector (SPI) at Bharati Vidyapeeth police station, said, “Preliminary investigation suggests that the accused are from the Pardhi community, and had planned to exploit the abducted child for begging. However, further investigation is underway.”
According to one of the investigating officers, “These accused may have been part of a larger beggars’ network operating from various religious places. They exploit the abducted children to gain sympathy from the devotees during begging.”
During the lean season, the accused would travel from Tuljapur to other cities like Pune during the Ganesh festival or Pandharpur and Alandi during the annual Wari to earn money from begging. The police are trying to trace the full extent of the racket and crosschecking whether other children have gone missing from any of these cities.
Meanwhile, the Dharashiv police have confirmed that in a similar case of kidnapping three months ago, a 15-year-old girl was found with some people from the Pardhi community. Due to a tipoff from the local police, the Dharashiv police rescued the girl and handed her over to her parents.
In the instant case, the police said that Sunil Bhosale, the mastermind behind the girl’s abduction, has a criminal record with cases of attempt to murder and house break-ins registered against him. Whereas Shankar Pawar is physically challenged and used to beg near the Tuljabhavani temple in Tuljapur, Dharashiv district. The third accused, Shalu Kale, was involved in an earlier case of kidnapping.
During the investigation into the two-year-old girl’s abduction, the police analysed CCTV footage from 140 cameras spanning the area from Katraj to Pune station which led them to identify the accused. Subsequently, a police team travelled to Dharashiv and arrested the accused on Tuesday with the assistance of local authorities.
Khilare said, “We have just arrested the accused on Tuesday. We will come to know whether other children have been abducted and who else is involved only after further investigation.”
