Kidnapped minor girl traced after 2 years in Odisha

Visakhapatnam: The Anakapalle district police traced a 16-year-old girl who was kidnapped two years ago from Anakapalli town. The police rescued her from Bhubaneswar on Friday night.

The police said that accused Elusuri Prasad Babu (28), a native of Rolugunta mandal in Anakapalle district and a resident of Guwahati city in Assam, where his parents have been staying, was married in the past and had one child. He later deserted his family due to disputes.

Prasad Babu used to make short films and stayed for some weeks with his friend at Arilova locality in Vizag city. He also stayed for some weeks in his friend’s home in a village in Anakapalle district, where he befriended the victim girl, an intermediate student. He sweetly talked with her and took her away on the pretext of marriage on July 13, 2021.

Based on the complaint from the victim’s father, Anakapalle rural police registered a kidnap case against Prasad Babu under Section 363 of the IPC on July 15, 2021. The Anakapalle police recently found some clues leading to Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The police said that the victim was taken to a remote village in the Kendrapara district of Odisha, where they stayed for more than a year. Interestingly, the accused and victim didn’t use mobile phones to prevent police detection.

Around six months ago, the girl was taken to the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, where the accused worked at a private college. The police stayed a week in Bhubaneswar and managed to nab the accused and rescue the victim, who is now 18 years old.

The police booked cases under Sections 363, 367, and relevant sections of the POCSO Act against the accused.