Cops rescue 2 ‘kidnapped’ Goan girls from Hubballi, arrest 2 accused

PTI, May 31, 2023, 8:33 PM IST

Panaji: Police on Wednesday rescued two Goa-based girls from Karnataka after they were allegedly lured and kidnapped on the promise of luxurious lifestyle and found locked in a house in the southern state, an official said.

The police arrested two persons from Hubballi in Karnataka, from where the girls – aged 12 and 15 – were rescued, he said.

According to police, the girls were kidnapped separately from two villages in North Goa and the missing persons’ reports were filed on May 29. Talking to reporters, Deputy Superintendent of Police Jivba Dalvi said the minor girls were rescued by a team of police from Colvale in North Goa with the help of their counterparts from Hubballi.

”On May 29, the father of one of the girls approached the police to inform them that somebody had kidnapped his minor 12-year-old daughter. On the same day, another woman from the district lodged a similar complaint about her missing 15-year-old daughter,” he said.

Two cases were registered in this connection under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 363 (kidnapping), he said. ”During the investigation, it came to light that the girls had been taken to Hubballi in Karnataka.

Accordingly, a police team went in search of the minor victims. They received assistance from their counterparts in Kasba Peth police station in Hubballi,” Dalvi said. While their search was on, the informers told the police that the two girls were kept in the house of one Naveed Ahmad Paniband at Tippunagar in Hubballi-Dharwad of Karnataka, he said.

”Accordingly, the police reached Paniband’s house and searched the premises. The two girls were found locked in his house. Paniband was arrested and during his interrogation, he told the police that his friend Tousif Killedar from Dharwad had brought the minors to his house. Based on the information, the police arrested Killedar from the same locality. During his questioning, the latter confessed to his involvement in the crime,” Dalvi added.

Both the victims were lured by the accused with an assurance of providing luxurious life. The girls even brought gold from their homes and the accused sold the ornaments to goldsmiths. All the gold was recovered from the goldsmiths in Hubballi, he said.