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A 16-year-old schoolgirl on her way from coaching class braved five criminals to resist an abduction attempt here on Thursday.
The student of a public school fought with the criminals and screamed her heart out near the Food Corporation of India godown at Kathalbari Chowk at 9am, leading the residents of the area to come to her rescue. The timely intervention of the residents, who pelted stones at the criminals, thwarted the kidnap attempt.
The incident occurred half-a-kilometre away from Lalit Narayan Mithila University (LNMU) police station of the town when the Rose Public School student was returning home after attending coaching classes at Digghi Pokhar.
Five masked men tried to push the girl inside a red SUV but the 16-year-old resisted the criminals till locals came to her help. The residents initially thought there had been an accident but were shocked to see one of the criminals took out a pistol.
As soon as the criminal brandished the pistol, a few residents started pelting stones on the SUV. Fortunately, a stone hit the criminal who had the pistol in his hand. The criminals fled soon after that.
The girl’s aunt (mother’s sister), who is a councillor of a Darbhanga Municipal Corporation ward, said: “My niece is nervous and she can’t speak right now because of trauma. She is a brave child who took the kidnappers head on. I am thankful to everybody who saved her.”
She added: “The child’s parents are government employees. Her father is a teacher and mother is a clerk with the postal department. A Class XII commerce student of Rose Public School, my niece mostly goes out for coaching classes. She has limited friends and there is no question of her having any enmity with anyone.”
City superintendent of police Kumar Aikley told The Telegraph: “Because of the bravery of the girl and support from the residents of the area, a major crime was averted. The girl resisted the criminals without caring for her life.”
Aikley added: “We registered a case at the LNMU police station against unknown persons as they had attempted a kidnap. The probe is on. It is too early to make any comment before the probe is over.”
Residents who were present at the site said the police arrived too late after the incident despite calling them as soon as the criminals tried to kidnap the girl. Raju Mishra, an eyewitness, said: “When the criminals were pushing the girl inside the SUV, we called up the police but they reached the spot after an hour. The nearest police station is hardly half-a-kilometre away from the crime spot. Had the police reached there on time and sealed the district border, the criminals could have been behind bars right now.”
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