MUMBAI: In a dramatic interstate rescue operation, the Mumbai Police traced and rescued a 17-year-old girl from Bihar nearly two weeks after she was allegedly abducted from Aarey Colony by a man who planned to forcibly marry her.

The accused, identified as Anil Paswan, 23, was arrested on Friday from Samastipur district in Bihar after an intensive investigation led by the Aarey police.

According to police officers, the ordeal began on April 30 when the teenager, a resident of Aarey Milk Colony, left her home around 2pm, telling her family she was heading to her BMC school to submit books. Hours passed, but the girl did not return, triggering panic among her family members, who searched the locality through the evening before finally approaching the police.

Based on the complaint lodged by the girl’s mother, the Aarey police registered a kidnapping case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and launched a probe.

Police sub-inspector Sachin Pachhal and his team began piecing together the girl’s movements using CCTV footage from the area, mobile phone location tracking and call detail records. Investigators soon discovered that the teenager’s mobile phone signal had moved out of Maharashtra and was traced to Bihar.

Realising the girl may have been taken across state borders, the police quickly formed a special team and rushed to Bihar. With the assistance of the local police, the team tracked down a suspect working at a grocery shop in Samastipur district.

Acting on the lead, the police conducted a raid at a location in Samastipur, where the minor girl was allegedly confined inside a room. She was rescued safely and brought back to Mumbai.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly told investigators that he was a resident of Samastipur district and had taken the girl to Bihar with the intention of forcing her into marriage.

Paswan was brought to Mumbai on transit remand and later produced before a local court, which remanded him to police custody.