Navi Mumbai: Forced to quit school, five girls escape to Gurgaon

The girls at the Taloja police station

The Navi Mumbai police have reunited five girls who ran away from their homes in Taloja, Navi Mumbai to Gurgaon, Haryana on February 3. According to the police, one of them claimed that her parents were forcing her to quit school and become a vegetable vendor like her father, compelling her to take the extreme step.

According to the police, it all started when Priya Ramvilas Chavan, 16, and her sister Santoshi, 14, did not return after leaving their home on February 3 at 7.30 am. They had claimed they were going to school. The family then began searching for the teens across the Phase 1 area.

"On February 4, they received information about three sisters, Tamannah Mirhasan Ansari, 14; Maryam, 7; and Alijah, 5, going missing. The family then approached the Taloja police station and a kidnapping case was registered against an unknown person," said a police officer from Taloja police station.

Tamannah said her parents would beat her and wanted her to man her father's vegetable cart instead of studying. Representation pic

The Navi Mumbai police formed different teams, which included officers from the anti-human trafficking cell, and started the investigation.

The authorities discovered that Priya was using a phone and managed to trace it to Gurgaon, Haryana. "During the course of the investigation, the team got in touch with one Arif, who Tamannah considered to be like a brother. He was sheltering them. They then went to Gurgaon and took the girls into their custody on February 7," said a police officer.

When questioned by the police, Tamannah said her parents would beat her and wanted her to man her father's vegetable cart instead of studying. She said her two younger sisters also wanted to study and were angry about their parents not sending them to school.

The secret plan

"So Tamannah collected money and prepared to leave home. As she had six sisters, her parents were not able to take care of everyone. After deciding to leave their home, they discussed their plan with Priya and Santoshi, their next-door neighbours."

The police said the girls agreed to visit Arif in Gurgaon. On the morning of February 3, they reached Kharghar railway station by autorickshaw and later caught a train from Bandra Terminus.

"It has been said that no complaint has been made against Arif. The five girls had left their homes on their own because of family troubles and because the environment at home was not good. According to the preliminary investigation, no one kidnapped them. The girls have been taken into the custody of the Taloja
police for now," said a police officer.

Prithviraj Ghorpade, senior police inspector, anti-human trafficking cell, Navi Mumbai, said, "We have brought the girls to Mumbai. They were handed over to the Taloja police in front of a child welfare officer. The Taloja police are investigating the matter."

Feb 3
Day girls ran away from home

Feb 7
Day minors were found