Romance ran on scholarship money, but ended in police custody

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A 16-year-old girl from Buldhana, who eloped with her 20-year-old boyfriend, was traced by police after three months. The couple had cut off all family contact, switched off their phones, and started a new life in Ranjangaon Shenpunji. The case cracked when the girl “liked” a friend’s Facebook post, giving cyber police the breakthrough. The court has remanded the accused in three days’ police custody.

Prajakta (name changed), a Class XI student, was in a relationship with Prithviraj Awasarmol (20). Her family opposed the affair and had planned to send her to her sister’s house.She reached cidco bus stand with her sister and brother-in-law. Fearing separation, she informed Prithviraj and fled with him on May 15 around 11 am. from Cidco bus stand, with the help of a friend. Her father later lodged a complaint at MIDC Cidco police station, leading to a kidnapping case being registered.

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Phones switched off, families worried

Prithviraj, who had recently moved to the city for studies, cut off all contact even with his own family. The couple switched off their phones and avoided using ATMs, forcing police to rely on technical surveillance. For three months, police inspector Gajanan Kalyankar, cyber police inspector Shivcharan Pandhare, and police sub-inspector Satish Jogas pursued digital leads.

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Facebook “like” cracks the case

Two weeks ago, Prajakta’s Facebook activity exposed her location. Cyber team members Sanjay Sable, Nitin Deshmukh, Dhananjay Sanap, Seema Chavan, and Sangeeta Dubey traced the mobile number behind the activity. The final clue came when police discovered a new gas connection registered under the same number on August 16. Using the KYC process as a pretext, police contacted the number. Prajakta herself answered and revealed their address. Disguised as gas company staff, sub-inspector Jogas along with Haider Shaikh, Santosh Molke, and Varsha Pawar raided the rented house on August 24.

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The price of young love: boyfriend jailed

Initially, the couple survived on Prithviraj’s scholarship money. He rented a room in Waluj and even secured a job at a company. However, since Prajakta was underage, several institutions refused to conduct their marriage. On August 24, Prithviraj was arrested on kidnapping charges.