16-year-old girl missing for close to a year rescued from Surat, man arrested

Based on her complaint, a case of kidnapping was registered and investigation initiated, a police officer said.With technical assistance, our team visited Surat recused the victim on April 4 and arrested the accused, Deputy Commissioner of Police Southwest Manoj C said.

A 16-year-old girl, who was missing for close to a year, has been rescued from Surat in Gujarat and a man has been arrested on the charge of kidnapping and sexually assaulting her, police said on Thursday.

The accused Santosh Subhash Gamne (30) was a native of Maharashtra's Bhandara district and wanted by the state police in multiple cases, including that of robbery and murder, officials said.

The girl's mother had complained to the police on May 18 last year that her daughter had gone missing three days earlier. Based on her complaint, a case of kidnapping was registered and investigation initiated, a police officer said.

''With technical assistance, our team visited Surat recused the victim on April 4 and arrested the accused,'' Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Manoj C said. What made the investigation challenging was that Gamne was changing his contact numbers and location very frequently, he said.

After the medical examination of the girl, she has been kept at Nirmal Chhaya in Hari Nagar. The Maharashtra Police has been informed about the arrest of Gamne there were non-bailable warrants issued against him, the deputy commissioner of police said.

''During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he had kidnapped the victim in 2020 and was arrested. In May 2021, he again kidnapped the girl and later sexually assaulted her,'' he added. Based on the accused's disclosure and medical examination of the girl, the accused has been booked on charges of kidnap and also under the relevant section of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, police said.