16-year-old girl stages own kidnapping, stabbing to join city college in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada

A passerby, who was heading towards Belthangady on his scooter at the time, noticed the girl standing by the roadside holding her hand and bent over in pain. He saw bleeding injuries near her left shoulder and on a finger of her right hand. On being questioned, the girl narrated the alleged kidnap attempt. At her request, he dropped her off at her home on his scooter. He later told the police that when he found her, she was alone, and he had not seen any vehicle in the vicinity.

The girl subsequently approached the police and lodged a complaint, following which a case was registered. During the investigation, the police examined CCTV footage from the surrounding areas but did not find any vehicle movement matching the girl’s version.

“She approached the police and filed a complaint, and a case was registered. CCTV footage was verified, and no such vehicle was seen in the area. The medical examination showed that she had no stitches and only superficial injuries. The doctor opined that the injuries were self-inflicted,” a senior police officer said.

Based on the CCTV findings and the medical report, the police recorded the girl’s statement again. “Later, when she was cross-questioned, she confessed that she had lied as she wanted to join a different college,” the officer added.

She disclosed that she wanted to discontinue studies at a rural college and instead seek admission in a college in Mangaluru city. To support this plan, she admitted to self-inflicting injuries and staging the kidnapping narrative.

The police said that since she is a minor, the matter is being handled sensitively and hence they are yet to reveal more details. The girl is being given counselling, and further legal action, if any, will be decided in accordance with the law, the police said.

The passerby is also being questioned as he had stated to the media that three men ran away after seeing him, and he dropped the girl off at home. However, he later retracted his claim of being a witness to the incident. He said that he gave the statement in confusion and that he had only repeated what the girl had told him.

When the police questioned him, he claimed the girl narrated a story, and he just repeated it, the police said.

Further inquiry is underway, said a police officer.