Mumbai: Using Whatsapp, Cops Trace Missing Toddler In 2 Hours

Mumbai: Thanks to some quick thinking exhibited by the police officials from south Mumbai (Zone-2), a three-year-old was traced within two hours after she went missing from outside her home - adjacent to Masjid Bunder station - around 10.30 am yesterday. Besides using conventional methods, the officers circulated the toddler's picture across various WhatsApp groups. The move yielded result and the girl was reunited with her parents by 12.30 pm. What has left the cops flummoxed is that though the girl boarded a local train at Masjid Bunder on the Central line, she was found at Grant Road station on the Western line. Police are now investigating whether it was a failed attempt of abduction.
Cop Speak

An officer from Pydhonie police station said the toddler, Roshani Vijay Dantani, resides with her parents and elder brother in a hutment adjacent to Masjid Bunder railway station (east) and her father does odd jobs to make ends meet. He added that the girl went missing while her parents had gone to have tea at a nearby stall. After unsuccessful attempts to trace her in the area, her parents approached Pydhonie police.

"We took no chance and deployed maximum available manpower to search the girl. We also created a message with the girl's picture and circulated it across WhatsApp groups. Around 12.30 pm, Inspector Bichkar from Gamdevi police station spotted the girl at Grant Road (west) station," said Senior PI Deepak Kundal from Pydhonie police station.

When the toddler's mother quizzed her on how she boarded the train, the girl replied that while playing she entered the station and boarded the train out of curiosity.

"We are trying to get a clear picture of the event with the help of the CCTVs installed in the areas where the girl boarded the train and was found. Medical tests have ascertained that the girl is unharmed. However, we are not taking any chances and probing the case from all possible angles, Kundal said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)