Father of missing girl tries to kill self, cites police ‘inaction’

A resident of Sanjay Nagar tried to set himself on fire at the Ghaziabad district magistrate’s office on Monday and was saved by the staff and police personnel, who overpowered him.

He doused himself with some liquid from a bottle, which he later confirmed to be petrol. He then tried to set himself ablaze. Police stopped him and removed him from the scene and also recovered the bottle.

According to him, his 17-yearold daughter went missing on April 18. He alleged that the girl was taken away by a young man from another community. “My family and I are under severe duress. Not only have we lost our daughter, but we are also being threatened by members belonging to the community of the man, whom we suspect took her away. I have met senior police officials several times, but my daughter is still missing. They have failed to locate and rescue her. That’s why I decided to take my own life,” he said.

The police, on the other hand, said the minor girl was annoyed with her father over some issues before she went missing. “An FIR was lodged on April 20 at the Madhuban-bapudham police station after the incident was reported. Following this, a team comprising the station house officer, circle officer and the police post in-charge was formed to investigate the matter. The man whom the family claimed has taken the girl was also questioned. He was found at his home and nothing substantial emerged from interrogating him,” said Muniraj G, senior superintendent of police.

“I have directed the superintendent of police to take up the investigation now. We are scanning CCTV footage and our teams are working diligently to find the girl,” he added.