A 21-year-old woman from Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri was allegedly abducted from Kota, Rajasthan, with her father claiming that he has received a Rs 30 lakh ransom demand, stated a report by PTI.
However, the Kota police said they are investigating the matter and yet to confirm if she was "abducted" from Kota.
Kota City Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan on Tuesday, March 19, announced a cash reward of Rs 20,000 for any input leading to the rescue of the girl.
"Police teams have been formed to trace the girl and are coordinating with police of other states in the investigation," she said.
The woman's father, in a police complaint, stated that his wife had taken their daughter to Kota in August last year for exam coaching and she was living in a hostel under the Vigyan Nagar police station area.
The man claimed that he has received a ransom demand of Rs 30 lakh and also pictures of his daughter with her hands and feet tied, Circle Inspector Satish Chaudhary told PTI on Tuesday morning, March 19.
Case and investigation
Based on the complaint, the police lodged a case of abduction under the Indian Penal Code on Monday night and started an investigation into the matter, the police official said.
However, during the preliminary investigation, police did not find any record of the woman's admission to the institute or in the hostel that her father mentioned, Chaudhary said.
"It was yet to be verified and confirmed that the abduction incident really took place in Kota," he said, adding that based on the complaint by the woman's father an investigation was underway.
Circle officer Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Yogesh Sharma said the girl's "location for last six to seven months" was not traced in Kota and she had not taken admission in any coaching institute or hostel in the city.
Police teams were constituted to conduct searches in the matter, Kota city Superintendent of Police (SP) Amrita Duhan said at a press conference here on Tuesday evening, March 19.
"The girl did not study in any coaching institute nor lived in any hostel. As far as messages on her performance in tests that were received by her parents, they were, prima facie, not sent from any coaching institute," the SP said, adding they were looking into the matter.
