4 min readVadodaraUpdated: Mar 11, 2026 04:09 PM IST
The primary information the police received was that the teen, a student of Class 6 at a private school in the city, had been at loggerheads with her parents over mobile phone usage. (File Photo)
It was past midnight when the Vadodara City police received a call from a couple seeking help to trace their 13-year-old daughter, who had left home after being rebuked for excessive use of her mobile phone. For the city’s Zone 1 officers and officials at the Channi police station, the call turned what would otherwise have been an uneventful night into a dramatic search operation—one that ended happily around 120 kms away.
The primary information the police received was that the teen, a student of Class 6 at a private school in the city, had been at loggerheads with her parents over mobile phone usage. On Tuesday, her parents had rebuked her again and threatened to take away the gadget. “Distressed and angry”, she sneaked out of the house at midnight with a backpack filled with clothes—and a mobile phone.
The police used technical surveillance to track the teen. The first location, the police said, was found to be Dena Bridge, followed by Airforce Bridge, and then Karjan, initially indicating that she was heading towards Karjan. “We informed the Karjan toll naka and the Karjan police station but the location changed to the expressway towards Ahmedabad,” Police Inspector R L Prajapati said. The teen seemed to be moving in the opposite direction.
Making matters difficult for the police, the 13-year-old kept switching her phone on and off. The police, however, kept tracking the device. Around 4 am on Wednesday, the police traced her location as being close to Ahmedabad. It was then that the Vadodara City Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, J M Chavda, instructed the officials of Chhani police station to send a police officer along with the parents of the teen to Ahmedabad.
“We informed the local police station in Ahmedabad as well as the toll naka on the Ahmedabad end… Meanwhile, as per the directions of DCP Zone 1, we dispatched an assistant head constable along with the teen’s parents towards Ahmedabad,” Prajapati added.
As the technical team continued to track her movements, her location was traced to the crowded area of CTM bus stop in Ahmedabad city on Wednesday morning. With the help of the local police, the teen was located and reunited with her parents, who reached Ahmedabad. “When the parents and the teen met, they broke down… They were brought back to Vadodara by the city police and a primary counselling was undertaken before handing her over to her parents,” Prajapati said.
‘Emotional connect with parents is a must’
Speaking to The Indian Express, DCP Chavda said that instances of teenagers running away from home were common due to an “emotional disconnect” with parents. “In our primary questioning, it has come forth that the differences between the teen and her parents arose due to the use of mobile phone… She took a private bus to Ahmedabad. We have not yet questioned the minor about the sequence of events and her different locations. We will be undertaking a formal counselling of the teen and her parents later, once they have settled. Since, no one had rested at night, we first handed over the teen to her parents and sent them home,” the DCP added.
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The senior police officer also sounded a word of advice for parents. Speaking about the increasing cases of teens rebelling against parents, DCP Chavda said, “It has become common to see that children in the present day do not have the connect or access to their parents as much as required. Parents themselves are hooked on to mobile phones and miss signs of trouble in their children. The emotional connect with parents is a must. Involving themselves with the child outdoors or in screen-free activities is necessary to forge a healthy parent-child relationship.”
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
