Rupandehi, October 4
A 10-year-old girl who went missing from her home in Tilottama Municipality-10, Rupandehi, has been rescued after 37 hours, while police have arrested a man suspected of abducting her.
The girl had been sleeping with her five-year-old brother and grandparents at their home on the night of October 1. At around 3am, her grandfather woke up to use the toilet and went to cover the children with a blanket.
That was when he realised the 10-year-old was missing from the bed.
Alarmed, he woke his wife and began calling for his granddaughter. The family searched around the house, while neighbours who heard the commotion also joined the search. Police at the Area Police Office, Mangalapur, were informed during the night.
A team led by Inspector Gyanendra Chand reached the house and began searching with local residents. They searched nearby houses, bushes, fields and surrounding areas through the night, but found no trace of the girl.
Police teams from Butwal and the district were subsequently mobilised. A team led by DSP Nishant Srivastava also joined the investigation, while the provincial police leadership deployed additional personnel, including a PIT team.
According to Deputy Inspector General Bhupendra Khatri, around 150 police personnel were involved in the search operation.
The girl had returned home from India with her grandparents only the previous day. Given the circumstances of her disappearance, police investigated the possibility that someone known to the family could have been involved.
During the investigation, police began focusing on a local man known as Bishal, identified as Yuvraj Tharu. Police searched areas where he was believed to frequent, including forests, fields and ponds.
Police later learned that Tharu often stayed in the forest. This prompted investigators to expand their search operations in forest areas.
After about 37 hours, information was received that the suspected man might be in the Chakrahawa forest in Tilottama-10. Police launched a larger search operation involving 55 personnel, with assistance from local residents.
Tharu was not found during the operation. The missing girl, however, was found alone in the forest at around 3pm on October 2.
Police said she was found in a condition in which she was unable to speak. She was immediately rescued and taken to Lumbini Provincial Hospital. She was later kept overnight at a safe house operated by the Area Police Office, Butwal, before being handed over to her relatives the following day.
The suspected abductor remained at large.
Police continued searching for Tharu and located him early on October 4 in a paddy field in Darakhsawa, Tilottama-17.
Police shot him below the knee before arresting him. He is currently receiving treatment at Lumbini Provincial Hospital. Police said they recovered a knife and an iron rod from him.
According to police, villagers told investigators that Tharu frequently ate and slept in the forest.
Police said their investigation so far indicates that he kept the girl alone in the forest for the 37 hours she was missing. Further investigation into the circumstances of the abduction is underway.
