Missing Jetpur boy found in Surat with 21-year-old woman

Rajkot: A 17-year-old boy from Jetpur taluka who went missing on March 6 was traced to Surat and found to be in the company of a 21-year-old woman he had met through social media. Virpur police brought the boy and the woman back from Surat. The minor, an Industrial Training Institute student who also works part-time at a petrol pump, and the woman were allegedly in a romantic relationship. When the boy went missing, his father filed a kidnapping complaint against her under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Technical surveillance helped police locate the pair in Surat. Both were brought to Virpur police station, where the boy was reunited with his parents. The woman was detained for questioning and was released after her statement was recorded. Investigating officer S G Rathod said, "The woman, who is from Jhabua district of MP, had been in contact with the boy for 18 months over Instagram." She is an agricultural labourer in Babra. She travelled to Gondal, where the minor joined her, and the two then took a bus to Surat. Before leaving, the student switched off his mobile phone but sent a message to his mother on Instagram, saying his motorcycle had been left at the Gondal bus station. Police say no physical relationship was involved, which is why the woman was not booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.