Girl kidnapped in Salem in broad daylight

Salem City Police identified the girl as R Jothi (18) of Seelanaickenpatti and was waiting for the bus to go to her college when the abduction happened. The girl was a first year electrical and electronics engineering student in a private college in Namakkal. 

According to the police, preliminary inquiries revealed that the student’s mother R Kovinthammal used to accompany her to the bus stop, from where the girl usually took a bus to her college. 

Around 8.30 am on Tuesday, the duo was waiting at the bus stop when a car stopped close to them. Suddenly, a youth, who got down from the vehicle, approached Kovinthammal and asked for direction to Kulithalai (in Karur district). While she said that she did not know the route, another youth got down from the vehicle, bundled Jothi into the vehicle. Meanwhile, the youth talking to Kovinthammal pushed her away and the car fled the place even as the woman frantically cried for help to save her daughter and ran behind the car. On seeing Kovinthammal running behind the vehicle, a few motorists tried to chase the car, but in vain. 

Annadhanapatti police are investigating the case based on a complaint lodged by the girl’s mother. Control rooms of the Salem City Police and the Salem District Police were alerted and they, in turn, asked the traffic police teams and patrolling teams vehicle checking. But the girl could not be traced till evening. CCTV footage was retrieved from cameras close to the place from where the girl was abducted. 

However, the police also suspected that the girl who had turned 18 years only a couple of days ago could have eloped.