New twist to Sarapady Ashalatha kidnap case ; police arrest 2

Mangalore Today News Network

Bantwal, May 8, 2014 :  The Bantwal Rural police who have busted the mystery behind the case of alleged kidnap of a  tenth standard girl named Ashalatha of Allipade in Sarapady village who went missing mysteriously fifty days ago and have arrested two persons. They have now rushed to Mumbai in search of the girl.

Those arrested are the girl’s aunt Savitha of Sarapady  and  Dharmaraj, the uncle of another accused Ashok. He was arrested from Mangalore. Both have been produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.

Ashalatha,a student of Navoor High School and daughter of late Jayanth Poojari of Sarapady village  was kidnapped, as per a complaint lodged with Bantwal Rural Police on March 17. As per the CC camera footage of a Bantwal temple, police found that the girl’s aunt had come  by a luxury car and had taken the girl from near the temple, Later it was gathered that one Ashok of Bijapur had kidnapped the girl.

A police team had left for Bijapur and then to Mumbai in search of the girl and the accused. Now they have managed to arrest the girl’s aunt and the uncle of one of the accused.

There is information that the girl is in Mumbai and the suspicion is that she might have been pushed to flesh trade. It is said Ashok used to come to Mangalore to sell raisins and it is not known how he came to know the girl.

According to the girl’s mother Vishalakshi she had given Rs 300 to her daughter to purchase night dress. However  when she did not return until evening, she had enquired Savitha who said the girl was in her house. Vishalakshi said she grew suspicious as she found her daughter’s footwear at home.

After a search for her the whole night a complaint was lodged and the police later took into custody the car driver Mustafa.

Police Inspector Nagaraj said  apart from  the old footwear of Ashalatha, a box of the new footwear was found nearby and this helped as a clue in the case.

 It is now learnt that Savitha had purchased a new pair of footwear for Ashalatha at a shop in Bantwal Town and took her  to Tirumala Venkatramana Temple where  she waited for someone for quite long and was seen speaking over phone, as revealed in CCTV footage.  Later, a car with three men came there and she spoke to them who later asked the girl to come in. When the girl refused, Savitha herself sat in the car and made the girl sit beside her, Nagaraj states