Nagpur: A teenage girl who left her home in Jaripatka after a dispute with her stepmother in 2024 was traced over 900km away in a village in Uttar Pradesh and reunited with her family by the Crime Branch’s Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention team.According to police, the 14-year-old had been missing since Dec 23, 2024. A school dropout, she left her house around 1pm without informing anyone, following an argument with her stepmother. When she failed to return, her family alerted the police.A kidnapping case was registered at the Jaripatka police station against unknown persons for allegedly luring and abducting the minor.During the investigation, the Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention team, led by senior inspector Lalita Todase under additional CP Vasant Pardeshi and DCP Rahul Maknikar, gathered technical inputs indicating the girl’s presence in a village in Jasrana tehsil of Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh. Acting on the lead, the team reached the location and traced her on March 27, 2026.Police said the girl had briefly contacted her mother but later lost the number. She subsequently called a friend in Jaripatka, which helped investigators track her location.The minor told police she had been staying with a friend in Uttar Pradesh, whom she met on Instagram.She was taken into protective custody, counselled, and handed over to the Jaripatka police for further legal procedures.Officials said the rescue underscores the role of technical surveillance and inter-state coordination in tracing missing minors and preventing trafficking risks.
