Missing Swedish minor in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Responding to an Interpol’s Yellow Notice (pertaining to a missing person), the Mumbai Crime Branch traced a 17-year-old Swedish girl who had come to Mumbai to meet a 18-year-old friend whom she first interacted with on social media platform, Instagram.

The teenager was traced to a house in Subhash Nagar, Cheetah Camp, and reunited with her father who flew down on Friday, an official said. The duo returned to Sweden on Saturday.

The girl’s father, Sardar

Tomar, filed a missing person’s complaint at a police station in Sweden on November 27. By analysing the teen’s social media activity, the Swedish police found that she was in touch with a Mumbai-based teenager on photo-sharing platform, Instagram. Her passport details revealed that she had travelled to Mumbai.

Senior inspector Ravindra Salunkhe, in charge of Unit 6 of the Mumbai CB, which received the Interpol notice, said his team located the girl’s friend, an 18-year-old college student, in Chembur. He led the police team to a house in Chembur where the girl had been staying for the past week.

Another police officer said the girl was in contact with her friend since January 2020. Last month, following a domestic spat, the teenager applied for a tourist visa and flew to India last month. The young man helped his friend find a place to stay at his relative’s home, and asked his sister to stay with her.

“On Friday, the girl’s father arrived in Mumbai and produced relevant documents. After due verification and securing NOCS from concerned authorities, Sweden embassy and central government officers, the girl was handed over to her father,” said Crime Branch DCP (detection) Neelotpal.

Tomar posted a letter on Twitter on Saturday thanking the Mumbai police for locating his daughter.

Their work is tough and very difficult, but still they do it in the best way. SARDAR TOMAR, father