Missing minor girl found in Haryana, accused arrested after three months of investigation

Guntur District Superintendent of Police Vakul Jindal at a press conference on the minor girl case at Police Headquarters on Saturday | Photo credit: T. VIJAYA KUMAR

The Guntur police traced a 15-year-old Class X girl and arrested Shaik John Said alias Rabbani, the accused with whom she allegedly left home, in Karnal, Haryana on Friday, ending a nearly three-month-long manhunt. Police have brought the two to Guntur, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vakul Jindal told The Hindu on Saturday.

The accused, a 21-year-old resident of Upputuru village in Parchur mandal of Bapatla district, will be produced before the court on charges of abducting a minor girl with whom he was allegedly friends for the past few years, the SP said. The SP said the girl tried to contact her mother several times through the social media platform, including on August 26 and September 3, but the calls went unanswered. However, a call on September 3 (Thursday) helped police trace her location and subsequently led to the arrest of the accused.

According to the police, the girl left home with nearly 250 grams of gold and over ₹100,000 in cash. Rabbani, who befriended her through Instagram, allegedly exchanged mobile phones and SIM cards at various places, including Nellore, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Secunderabad, to avoid being tracked.

The girl was missing since June 9, 2026. Based on her father’s complaint, the Pattabhipuram police registered a missing case of the girl on June 10 and started an investigation.

During the investigation, police reportedly identified Rabbani as the person who was in contact with the girl through Instagram. CCTV footage was examined by the police and it was said that he was seen taking the girl on a motorbike. Investigating officials subsequently followed a wide range of technical and field leads, requesting detailed call logs, IMEI tracking data, information from Instagram and Gmail, and tracking IP addresses linked to multiple numbers, devices and accounts.

Police teams traveled to Coimbatore, Palakkad, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Nellore, Parchur and Adoni, examined CCTV footage at railway stations, lodges and other places, searched hostels and traced Rabbani’s family members, friends and social media contacts. Informants were also deployed at various stages.

The case later reached the Andhra Pradesh High Court after the girl’s father filed a habeas corpus petition seeking her production and restoration to the family. DGP Harish Kumar Gupta has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the directions of the court to intensify the investigation.

K. Supraja, SP (NC), Crimes, Guntur, has been appointed to supervise and coordinate the SIT under the overall supervision of SP Vakul Jindal. The team included DSP B. Srinivasa Rao, Inspector Pattabhipuram Ganga Venkateswarlu, Chief Inspector IT Md. Nisar Basha, WSI P. Tarangini, SI M. Raj Kumar and other police personnel.

The police said the investigation involved constant verification and tracking of every lead, which eventually led to tracking down the duo in Haryana.

Published – 05 Sep 2026 20:57 IST