Kidnapped boy rescued after GRP chases train 670 km by car, nabs accused in Mirzapur

A man accused of abducting a 6-year-old boy, Arjun (name changed), after luring his helpless father at Nagpur railway station was arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP) within just 48 hours. The accused, Mithunkumar Dayachandra Paswan (21), is a resident of Nalanda in Bihar. He was arrested at Mirzapur railway station. To carry out the operation, a GRP team had to chase the train by car for 670 kilometres.

The incident is connected to Champatlal Chauhan (38) (name changed), a resident of Rajasthan. After his wife died during the coronavirus period, he had gone to Hyderabad to work as a labourer and paint idols to support his three children. His children are aged 13, 8 and 6, with Arjun being the youngest. When he could not find work in Hyderabad, Chauhan set out by train to return to his village.

At Secunderabad station, he met Mithun, who claimed to be the owner of his own company and lured him with a job offer, which Chauhan believed. Mithun then bought general tickets for them and brought them from Secunderabad to Nagpur. On reaching Nagpur around 6.30 pm, Mithun fed everyone and said they needed to change trains further. During this, Chauhan went to get medicine for the children, and in the meantime Mithun left with Arjun. When Mithun did not return for a long time, a panicked Chauhan filed a complaint with the GRP.

On receiving the complaint, senior GRP officers and different branches immediately began investigating. With help from the Railway Protection Force, CCTV footage was scanned, which showed Mithun boarding train number 12159 Amravati-Jabalpur Express with Arjun at platform 1. During questioning by PI Gaurav Gawande, Chauhan said the accused's accent sounded Bihari.

Police then immediately released the accused's photograph to the staff of all trains headed to Bihar. It emerged that Mithun was on a train travelling to Bihar via Uttar Pradesh. On getting this information, the GRP team set off directly for Bihar by car and, tracing the location, covered 670 kilometres to reach Mirzapur station ahead of the train.

Mithun was arrested at Mirzapur and Arjun was rescued from him, after which both were brought back to Nagpur. Police are still investigating whether Mithun carried out the abduction with the intention of human trafficking or for some other reason. Meanwhile, Chauhan could not stop his tears on seeing his young son safe and sound, and he expressed gratitude to the GRP. The entire operation was carried out under the guidance of AC Shinde and Additional SP Rathod, by a team of PI Gawande, SI Ingle, Mishra, Yelekar, Dhongdi and Ali.