Kidnapped engineering student rescued in East Godavari within 24 hours

East Godavari: The Rajahmundry urban police of East Godavari district rescued a second-year engineering (B.Tech) student within 24 hours after she was kidnapped.

The police chief of Rajahmundry urban district, Aishwarya Rastogi, said the 19-year-old girl, a resident of a village under Rajanagaram mandal in the district, is pursuing B.Tech at a college in Rajahmundry. She used to go to college in the college bus.

On 15 December, the girl's father received a call from his daughter. However, it was from an unknown man on the line. He told him that he had kidnapped the girl and demanded a ransom of Rs. 5 lakh. He also threatened him with dire consequences.

The girl's father filed a complaint and the police formed eight teams to rescue the kidnapped girl.

The investigation revealed that the girl and Moka Phanindra, who belongs to Kotha Pusala Marru village under Bhimavaram mandal in West Godavari, met on Instagram around six months ago. They exchanged phone numbers, started chatting online, and over time, the two grew close.

On the morning of 15 December, Phanindra called the girl and asked her to meet him near the Saibaba temple in Rajanagaram. The two met at the temple and left for Bhimavaram. Once there, Phanindra kept the girl in a room and took her gold. He called her father and demanded Rs. 5 lakh for her safe release.

When the girl refused to demand such a large sum from her father, Phanindra threatened her. He made several calls to her father demanding ransom and also made video calls to the girl's parents showing them their daughter. He changed the ransom delivery point several times.

The police traced the location of the girl and rescued her based on CCTV footage and technical data. They found that Phanindra had earlier been involved in four crimes.