A birthday post on social media has helped Gujarat Police solve a 12-year-old missing-person case in Amreli, leading to an emotional reunion between a family and a daughter they had long feared they would never see again.
The girl had disappeared from her home in Chital village of Amreli taluka when she was 15 years old. Despite a complaint from her father and years of investigation, there had been no clear information about her whereabouts.
Twelve years later, police finally traced her to Bhalgamda village in Halvad taluka of Morbi district. By then, the missing teenager had become a 27-year-old married woman and mother of four children — two daughters and two sons.
The investigation also uncovered that she had been married while she was still a minor. Her 33-year-old husband, an auto-rickshaw driver, has been arrested in connection with the child marriage, and police have also added provisions relating to rape under the IPC and the POCSO Act.
She left home at 15 after being scolded over household work
The girl had left her home in Chital village without informing her family.
According to the investigation, she had been reprimanded by her family for not helping with household chores. Upset after the incident, she decided to leave home.
She travelled by bus towards Rajkot. During the journey, she reportedly told a female passenger that she was an orphan because she could not afford the bus ticket.
When she reached the Rajkot bus station, she was hungry and crying. A couple from Morbi noticed her condition and took her to their home.
The couple initially treated her like their own daughter.
A neighbour’s marriage proposal changed her life
The girl’s life took a different turn after she began staying with the Morbi couple.
Police said a neighbour of the couple was looking for a suitable match for his nephew. The girl was eventually married to the nephew.
She was still a minor at the time of the marriage.
Over the years, she built a family of her own. She eventually became a mother of four children — two daughters and two sons.
Police also found that she had given birth to two children before she turned 18.
Her father kept waiting for answers
After the girl disappeared, her father filed a missing-person complaint at Amreli taluka police station.
The case remained unresolved for years. According to police, as many as 16 investigating officers handled the case at different stages, but none could find her.
The family had no clear idea where she had gone or whether she was still alive.
The case was eventually reopened by PI V.P. Gol of the Amreli Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) and his team.
When investigators could not get a fresh lead from the family, they changed their approach and began looking at demographic information and digital records.
A birthday wish on Facebook became the breakthrough clue The breakthrough came in July.
A woman employee of the AHTU noticed a Facebook post wishing a young woman on her birthday. The date of birth mentioned in the post matched the date of birth of the girl who had gone missing from Amreli 12 years earlier.
The girl’s father was shown the woman’s photograph, but he could not immediately recognise her. Police, however, decided to investigate the social media lead instead of dismissing it.
While examining photographs connected to the Facebook post, investigators noticed an auto-rickshaw. That vehicle became an important clue.
Auto-rickshaw number helped police trace the family
Police used the registration number of the auto-rickshaw to obtain information about its owner.
From the vehicle registration, investigators obtained the owner’s mobile number and address in Morbi.
The team then began connecting information from different sources.
Police cross-checked the woman’s social media profile with mobile phone, vehicle, banking and residential records.
These details gradually helped investigators establish where she was currently living.
Police visited her home posing as survey officials
To confirm her identity without alerting the family, police adopted another approach. Investigators visited her current home while posing as population survey officials.
During the verification process, police compared details connected to her family background.
Her father’s name and an old photograph that her husband had submitted while opening a bank account provided important evidence to establish that the woman was the same girl who had disappeared from Amreli 12 years earlier.
During questioning, she eventually admitted that she had left Amreli 12 years ago.
She had once wanted to return home
The woman told police that she had initially wanted to return to her family after leaving home. However, she eventually abandoned the idea because she felt guilty after becoming a mother of two children.
Over the years, she remained away from her parents and continued living with the family she had formed after her marriage.
Husband arrested over marriage to a minor
The investigation also revealed serious legal concerns surrounding her marriage.
Police found that she had been married while she was still a minor. Her husband, now 33 and working as an auto-rickshaw driver, has been arrested and sent to jail for allegedly marrying a minor.
Police have also added provisions relating to rape under the IPC and the POCSO Act as part of the investigation.
The case has therefore moved beyond a long-pending missing-person investigation and has also brought to light the circumstances surrounding the girl’s marriage and life after she disappeared.
A 12-year-old mystery finally comes to an end
What began as a missing-person case involving a 15-year-old girl has taken a very different turn 12 years later.
A simple birthday greeting on Facebook, a photograph containing an auto-rickshaw and a vehicle registration number ultimately gave investigators the chain of clues they needed.
By combining social media information with mobile, vehicle, banking and residential records, police were able to locate the woman and confirm her identity.
After more than a decade of uncertainty, the family finally received an answer about what had happened to their missing daughter.
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