Nagpur: A 36-year-old woman, a mother of three, was apprehended along with a 16-year-old boyin Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, after fleeing together. The duo were reportedly in a relationship and had previously eloped from Nagpur as well. The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Nagpur Crime Branch successfully traced them using technical surveillance and credible intelligence.

The boy’s 46-year-old father, a resident of the Wathoda police jurisdiction, lodged a missing complaint on December 2, 2024, after his son, a class 11 student, failed to return home. The teenager had left, informing his family that he was going to college, but when he did not return, his family began searching for him. After failing to locate him, they approached Wathoda Police Station, where a case was registered under Section 137(2) of the BNS against an unknown suspect for allegedly luring and abducting the minor.

During the parallel investigation, the AHTU team tracked the boy’s location to Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. Upon reaching the site, the police found him with the 36-year-old woman, who was previously known to be in a relationship with the minor. She had eloped with him earlier in a similar manner, raising concerns among authorities. Both were taken into custody, and after counseling, they were handed over to Wathoda Police for further legal action.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Commissioner of Police Ravinder Kumar Singal, Additional CP (Crime) Sanjay Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Rahul Maknikar, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Abhijit Patil. The team included PI Lalita Todase, API Gajendra Singh Thakur, and other police personnel.