Varanasi boy, 12, abducted outside home jumps out of SUV in Ballia, gets help
The Varanasi boy, a Class 4 student, told the police that he jumped out of the SUV when it stopped at a railway crossing in Ballia district, 200 km from where he was kidnapped
A 12-year-old kidnapped outside his house in Varanasi on Monday managed to free himself from his abductors a few hours later and has returned home, the police said on Tuesday. The boy, a Class 4 student, jumped out of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) at a railway crossing 200 km away and raised an alarm. His abductors fled.
“Safi Ahmad, a native of Udpur in Jaunpur, lives along with his family in Pandeypur area of Varanasi. His son Azam Khan aka Salman was playing outside his house on Monday morning when a SUV suddenly stopped in front of his house. Before Salman could understand anything, his kidnappers had shoved him inside the vehicle and escaped,” said a Varanasi police officer.
“Salman told us that one of the kidnappers tightly covered his mouth with his hand so that he couldn’t scream,” he said.
After a few hours, they had to stop near a railway crossing that had its gates closed to let a train pass. Salman told the police that he mustered courage and jumped out of the SUV and started shouting for help. “He told us that his kidnappers fled as soon as he raised an alarm,” the police said.
Salman walked to the nearby Srinagar village with some people where the boy was reportedly told that he was at the Suraimanpur railway crossing in Ballia district’s Bairia area.
Salman narrated his story to the villagers who reached out to the police.
Station officer Revati police station, inspector Pravin Singh reached the village and helped Salman reach his parents with assistance from the police in Jaunpur, Salman’s native place. Salman was handed over to the family after completing the formalities under operation Muskan, a nationwide project to locate missing children.