Food delivery agents, tempo drivers: How Vadodara police used disguise to track down abduction accused on the run for 2 decades

For three days, two ‘food delivery agents’ visited several housing societies in the Vasai-Virar area of Palghar district of Maharashtra – in search of an “address” – but did not deliver parcels.

A pick-up tempo driver hovered around the industrial area and frequently sought directions from security guards.

Three ‘customers’ made rounds of commercial complexes, calling out to the security guards to ask for help in finding an office or establishment.

In reality, this was a team of officers of the Vadodara city Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) looking for an egg shop owner from Vadodara city, who had been on the run and evaded arrest in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a teenaged minor girl in 2006 after allegedly promising marriage.

After three days of searching premises in a span of around 100 km, the DCB said on Friday that the accused had been located.

However, with no previous or latest photo of the accused available, the task was not as simple as it sounded.

The Vadodara DCB was only relying on the description of the accused in the 20-year-old case file – he had a mole on his right cheek and was addicted to tobacco.

His age at the time of the offence was around 35 years.

It would mean conducting a manual search to track down the accused, now aged about 55, in the entire area of 311 square km.

Inspector R G Jadeja of the Crime Branch told this newspaper, “As per police records, the accused had never been arrested, nor was the minor traced and rescued.

The minor and the accused met each other as he then ran an egg shop near her residence, as per the police case.

The accused allegedly lured the minor with promises of a better life and took her away from the legal guardianship of her parents… The sections invoked in the case were also pertaining to luring a woman for marriage and kidnapping her..”
It was only recently, through human sources and technical analysis, that the Vadodara DCB tracked down the accused – Firoz Khan Pathan – to Vasai-Virar in Palghar, where he was purportedly working as a security guard.

Led by sub-inspector B S Vala, the team including Hamir, Bahadursinh, Devendrasinh, Shaktisinh, Gokul, Suresh, Kalpesh and Nidhi, arrived in Palghar and lay in wait for three days, gathering more information through local sources by posing as delivery agents, customers at commercial complexes and pick-up drivers.

While one unit went around posing as food delivery agents, striking up conversations with security guards under the pretext of locating addresses, a policeman scanned the industrial areas, posing as a pick-up driver, seeking directions.

The third went around as a customer to commercial complexes and malls.

All the officers were instructed to communicate only in Hindi – rather than Gujarati – to avoid suspicion.

A breakthrough came when the officer posing as a customer landed up at a commercial complex, Infinity Square, and found a security guard that matched the description in the files.

He had a mole on his right cheek, he was chewing on tobacco and appeared to be in his 50s.

Once identified as the “best possible suspect”, the team of five officers reached the commercial complex the following day, and confronted him.

On checking his identity proof and Aadhar card, it was confirmed that he was the accused they were looking for.

The DCB brought Pathan to Vadodara and handed him over to the police station concerned.

However, the twist in the tale was that the ‘victim’ who the accused abducted had returned home a few years ago – unknown to the police – and remarried.

Inspector Jadeja said, “Upon questioning the accused, we learnt that the girl he abducted returned after a few years, separating from the accused.

She later got married and is currently settled with her family…”
Personnel at the local police station said that the accused was produced before a magistrate and sent to judicial custody on Friday.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Pranav Kataria told this newspaper, “The accused was sent to judicial custody by a jail warrant.

Since we did not need his custody, we did not seek it.

The complainant did not inform the police about her return but it is also not known if the victim had reconciled with her family.

At the moment, we have not called in anyone for recording their statements as the woman is now settled after her marriage.”
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field.

She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.

Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.

Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.

Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues.

Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).

Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.

Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora....

Read More
Stay updated with the latest -Click here to follow us on Instagram