Rescue of kidnapped Mumbai girl: Saga of hope and 9 years of wait

Thanks to a sharp-witted domestic worker and the prayers of a strong-willed cop, a 16-year-old girl in Mumbai was united with her family nine years after she was kidnapped.

On Saturday, the Gilbert Hill locality in Mumbai was flooded with reporters and onlookers who came to watch Pooja God’s return and reunion with her mother and brother.

Kidnapped by a Mumbai-based couple, who were then childless, Pooja, could be traced due to an alert by a woman domestic help, who played an important role in her rescue, police said.

Kidnapped on way to school

Pooja had gone missing on January 22, 2013, following which her family as well as the police had launched a frantic search for her.

While she was finally brought home on Friday,  her captors Harry Joseph D’Souza was arrested while his wife Soni D’Souza has been called for questioning.

Surprisingly, Pooja, was just living 500 metres from her home in Andheri West, with the D’Souzas. They had kidnapped her as they didn’t have a child.

“The (kidnapping) incident had occurred in 2013 when she was going to her civic-run school. She was walking with her elder brother, who was then studying in Class 4. He was walking ahead of her. But after some time, when he turned back, he did not find her,” police told PTI.

After attending his classes, Pooja’s brother went to her classroom, where her teacher told him that she was absent. He went home and alerted her parents about her. They approached the DN Nagar police station, following which a missing person’s report was registered initially, he said.

The city police had launched a search for Pooja and posters carrying her photos in school uniform were also distributed in the area.

A determined cop

Pooja’s story has turned the spotlight on Rajendra Bhosle, a retired cop who was an assistant sub-inspector and in-charge of the missing persons’ bureau at D N Nagar police station.

Having lost his own sister to dowry death, Bhosle was committed towards solving crimes involving women, and resolved to trace the missing girl.

Bhosle, who is now 65-year-old, always carried the girl’s photo in his pocket, but failed to get any clue on her whereabouts, police said.

When news of Pooja’s rescue reached him, he broke down, calling it a “happy, happy day. It’s a happy, happy day,” as per a piece on the cop by Indian Express.

The report says, even though Bhosle retired without being able to trace Pooja, every time he came to Mumbai from Khed in Ratnagiri he would meet her parents, convince them of her return one day, and pray for them at different places of faith.

“The lone missing girl I couldn’t trace, prayers found her for me. I told my sister that God helped me keep my promise to her,” he told IE.

Another human who played a vital role in Pooja’s rescue is 35-year-old domestic help Pramila Devendra, who worked in suburban Juhu.

She came across Pooja, who had started working in the same area like her since the last few months.

“During their conversation, Pooja once told her that she was being harassed by her family members, who were not her original parents. She told her that she had been kidnapped. Pramila then searched on the internet whether any news report about her missing case had appeared anywhere. During the search, she came across the stories and articles about Pooja, following which she informed the DN Nagar police station about her case,” the police official told PTI.

The rescue operation

Police swung into action and made inquiries with Pooja and found she was the same girl who had gone missing years ago, said Milind Khurde, senior inspector of D N Nagar police station.

After that, police interrogated Harry D’Souza and his wife, with whom Pooja was staying for the last nine years.

“During their questioning, it came to light that D’Souza had kidnapped Pooja as the couple did not have a child. After kidnapping, he had sent her to Karnataka for some time before bringing her back to Mumbai,” he said.

DN Nagar police then registered an FIR against D’Souza and his wife Soni, both residents of Juhu Galli, under sections 363 (kidnapping), 365 ( intent for abduction), 368 (wrongful confinement ), 370 ( trafficking) and 374 (unlawfully compelling a person for labour) of the Indian Penal Code, he said. DSouza was placed under arrest late Thursday night and sent to police custody till August 10, he said.

On Friday, the girl was reunited with her family members – her mother Poonam and 19-year-old brother Rohit – who stays just a kilometre away from the D’Souza family lived, police said.

“Their reunion was a very emotional moment for us as we were able to reunite the missing girl with her family,” inspector Khurde said.