A seven-month-old girl went missing under mysterious circumstances from her house in New Kartar Nagar on Wednesday night, only to be found in a vacant plot close to her residence after nearly 15 hours, police said on Thursday.
Police said the family rushed the infant to a hospital for medical care. Police found the matter “fishy” and suspect “some family acquaintance behind the abduction” of the infant, the youngest among three sisters.
According to the family, “The infant was sleeping with her mother and two elder sisters when she disappeared. Around 3:30 am, one of the elder daughters fell off the bed and started crying, which woke their mother up to find her youngest daughter missing, the room’s door opened, and the lights were on.”
The family raised an alarm and began searching for the infant in the neighbourhood.
The father of the infant, Gurpreet Singh, who runs a hotel, was out of town at the time of the incident. “I received a frantic call from my wife around 4 am, informing me about the disappearance of our youngest daughter. We usually keep the terrace door locked due to a mentally unstable relative, who lives upstairs, but it was accidentally left open that night,” Gurpreet said.
Following a complaint, police reviewed CCTV footage of the area and found three unidentified persons carrying buckets near the house.
Model Town police station SHO Inspector Balwinder Singh said, “We are investigating the case thoroughly, looking into all possible angles, including statements suggesting the involvement of Neighbours or even the possibility of an animal. We have taken CCTV footage into our possession and have been examining mobile call records of the family.”
