Khar NYE victim’s mum rescues two minor girls from suspicious man in Juhu

Almost exactly a year since she lost her daughter under terrible circumstances, Niddhi Kukreja steps in after seeing a man walking away with two 12-year-old girls near Juhu

Niddhi Kukreja, who lost her daughter in a brutal murder last year on New Year’s Eve, helped reunite two minor girls with their parents. Kukreja was driving near Juhu Koliwada around 11.50 pm on Tuesday when she saw two minors walking with a man, who appeared to be drunk. She found it suspicious and stopped her car to check what was happening. The girls told her that they were from Vakola and had gone to Juhu without informing their parents. They said the man approached them near the beach and offered to take them to a police station, Kukreja said. 

Kukreja said the man allegedly started running after seeing her get down from the car, but she managed to stop him. “The minors claimed that the man touched them inappropriately. He was with them since 8 pm but did not take them to the police station till the time I found them,” she said. 

Niddhi Kukreja with the minors

She also recorded her conversation with the minors, a copy of which is with mid-day, when they told her that the man tried to touch them inappropriately. One of the girls said, “We screamed a lot but nobody came to help us.” When asked why they were with the man, she told Kukreja, “He told us he would take us to the police station and then to our homes. But then he just kept walking around.”

The minors also told Kukreja that the man mixed something in the water and drank it. He allegedly also offered the same to the girls, but they refused.

Meanwhile, a beat cop who was passing by, saw the four on the road and inquired with them. The cop then took the two minors, the man as well as Kukreja, to Santacruz police station. 

“The Nirbhaya squad immediately came out and took the girls in their custody. The squad then contacted nearby police stations and learned that a missing report for two girls was filed at Vakola police station around 6 pm. We then went to Vakola police station where the police called their parents and did a medical check up of the two girls. The girls were reunited with their parents around 2 am,” Kukreja said. 

However, Vakola police did not find anything suspicious and allowed the man to leave after enquiry. “The man said he was taking these girls to the police station. We don’t think his intentions were wrong. He said while he was walking towards the police, the woman (Kukreja) got down from her car and enquired with the girls,” said ACP Shripad Kale, Vakola Division.

At the time of going to the press, the mother of one girl was called back to the police station and details are awaited.

Kukreja, however, told mid-day, “My concern was about the girls’ safety and now they are with their parents. I have told whatever the minors have told me, such as how the person was behaving  suspiciously, touched them here and there, that he was drunk and tried to run away when I got down from the car to approach minors.”

“The girls clearly told me that the person was touching them here and there and there is audio recording where one can hear that the minor is saying how he tried to pull her clothes. I don’t know the legality of the matter, cops should find out this is their job. As a responsible citizen and mother I have done what needs to be done,” she added.

Mother of one of the 12-year-olds said, “We don’t know what happened and how they went there. We were scared till the time we got a call from Vakola Police station that both were found. Cops also did a medical check up and everything is alright. We are thankful to Niddhi ji for helping our daughters.”

Kukreja, who lost her 19-year-daughter last year, told mid-day, “Seeing the joy on their mothers faces brought me peace. Whenever I see a girl I remember my Jahnvi. She would have been alive today had someone helped her that day. This feeling forced me to stop and see if these two minors were in trouble as I felt suspicious seeing the man.” 

2 am
Time when the girls were reunited with the parents

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