Schoolgirl duo in J&K's Pulwama fakes abduction to bunk classes

Srinagar, April 10 (IANS) In a bizarre incident, two schoolgirls in J&K's Pulwama alleged an abduction bid to bunk classes before coming clean on the incident, police said on Thursday. A police statement said that April 7, the Pulwama police station had received a written complaint from Bilal Ahmad Ganaie, son of Ghulam Nabi Ganai, resident of Ratnipora Pulwama, against an unknown driver of vehicle (JK01AB-2069) to the effect that at about 9.30 a.m., his daughter and her classmate, aged 10 years, were going to their school, but on the way, the said unknown driver had forcibly got them into the car and tried to kidnap both of them.

Upon this complaint, an FIR (91/2025) under section 137(2) BNS was registered at the Pulwama police station, and an investigation was launched. However, police found that the girls had made up the incident.

"During the course of the investigation, the statements of parents and minor girls were recorded before a court, where they stated that no one had kidnapped them and they went to Nadoo from Ratnipora by foot," the statement said.

"CCTV footage of the area was also collected, which clearly indicated that neither any vehicle had forcibly picked them up nor were they kidnapped; they gave statements to avoid going to school, and the same was then corroborated by their parents," it added.

Police cautioned parents to ensure that their wards are properly educated about the law. They should be properly advised that accusations like kidnapping and abduction are very serious crimes, and in such cases, the police are duty-bound to go by the statement of the complainant.

"Careless and casual attitude of parents and children can have serious consequences against those falsely accused of a heinous crime they never committed," the police said.

This is probably the first case of its kind in Kashmir, where parents and schoolgirls blindly accused an innocent car driver of having kidnapped them while the schoolgirl and her classmate had gone on a stroll after bunking their classes.