7 hrs ago
Gujarat CCTV blind spots complicate 100-km kidnapping chase
Police were looking for a five-year-old boy who had allegedly been taken away on a motorcycle.
The boy was last seen with Lalit Roopsingh Jamre, a farm labourer.
Police checked cameras in villages and towns across two Gujarat districts.
The cameras helped them follow the motorcycle toward Jetpur and Virpur.
However, many cameras were broken, switched off, hard to access or pointed in the wrong direction.
Some cameras also showed the wrong time.
Police eventually saw the boy’s bright orange shirt in one recording.
A worker recognised pictures of the man and child and told police where they had been seen.
Police found them in Virpur about 48 hours after the alleged kidnapping.
Police rescued a five-year-old boy in Virpur after tracing an alleged kidnapping across more than 100 km.
Investigators used footage from public, private, traffic and security cameras across Amreli and Rajkot districts.
The search encountered faulty cameras, missing coverage, inaccurate timestamps, poor connectivity and inaccessible private footage.
Police followed the motorcycle through Jetpur and along National Highway 27 before finding a 10-km surveillance gap.
A food-distribution worker’s tip ultimately helped police locate Lalit Roopsingh Jamre and the child after 48 hours.
- Who
- Gujarat Police investigated the alleged kidnapping of a five-year-old boy and searched for Lalit Roopsingh Jamre, a 25-year-old farm labourer from Madhya Pradesh.
- What
- Police traced and found Jamre with the boy after following motorcycle and CCTV footage across Amreli and Rajkot districts.
- Where
- The alleged kidnapping occurred in Mota Ankadiya village in Amreli district; the search crossed into Rajkot district and ended in Virpur.
- When
- The child was allegedly taken on September 6; the investigation began on September 7, and police found them at about 6:30 a.m. on September 8.
- Why
- Police said Jamre told interrogators that he had formed a bond with the child and intended to take him to Madhya Pradesh.
Key facts
- Child
- Five-year-old boy allegedly taken from Mota Ankadiya village
- Suspect
- Lalit Roopsingh Jamre, 25, a farm labourer from Barwani, Madhya Pradesh
- Motorcycle
- Hero Splendor, registration number GJ-16-CE-1817
- Search duration
- About 48 hours
- Camera systems used
- Amreli and Rajkot Netram centres, Gandhinagar Trinetra, ANPR cameras and private cameras
- Key surveillance issues
- Faulty or unavailable cameras, poor connectivity, inaccurate timestamps and a 10-kilometre coverage gap
- Reported camera-count discrepancy
- The account describes footage from 172 CCTV cameras overall and separately says police reviewed 176 of 180 cameras accessed through the Dumiyani toll plaza operator
Quotes
Omdevsinh Jadeja
Inspector and SHO of Amreli Taluka police station
“But we knew we would find him only if he had entered or passed by a major town. If he went through the villages, it would be much harder to get a visual,”
indianexpress.com
“There were no CCTV cameras after the petrol pump. Some work was ongoing on the road. We didn’t find another camera for 10 km.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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