Patna: Police in Patna have launched a multi-team search for a 16-year-old girl who has been missing since Thursday evening, after a brief and alarming phone call to her mother intensified fears that she may have been abducted.
The teenager, the daughter of a businessman from Uttar Pradesh, left her family’s rented home in north Krishnapuri between 4pm and 5pm on Thursday for what was described as a routine errand. When she failed to return by late evening and could not be reached by phone, her family initially feared she had stayed with a friend. Overnight enquiries with neighbours and acquaintances yielded no clues.
By Friday morning, concern had grown into alarm. The family continued searching and contacting friends, but the girl remained untraceable. On Saturday, her mother received a call from an unknown number. A trembling voice identified itself as her daughter and pleaded: “Mum, save me … I’m very sick.”
According to the family, the girl sounded panicked and frightened, speaking in broken sentences. During the brief call, she mentioned Gandhi Maidan and referred to an auto-rickshaw before the line abruptly disconnected. The call did not come from her own phone number, and repeated attempts to reach the number afterwards failed.
The family reported the call immediately to Srikrishnapuri police station, saying the tone and content of the conversation suggested the girl was under duress. Police traced the number and dispatched a team within about 30 minutes, but traffic congestion delayed their arrival. The patrol vehicle was held up near the Patna high court and the Dak Bungalow area before reaching the vicinity of Gandhi Maidan.
By the time officers arrived, the girl had already left the area. Police later questioned a woman whose phone had been used to make the call. She told investigators that a distressed young girl had approached her, briefly taken a guava, made a phone call and then left. She said she did not know where the girl went afterwards.
Officers say multiple teams are now searching across central Patna and reviewing possible routes and CCTV footage. The case is being treated with urgency given the age of the girl and the content of the call. Police have appealed to the public for information while continuing efforts to trace the phone number and reconstruct the girl’s movements.
The family, meanwhile, say the uncertainty has been agonising. “From the way she spoke, it was clear she needed help,” the girl’s mother said. “We just want her to come home safely.”
