For nearly three months, a family in Guntur waited for word of their missing 15-year-old daughter. On Friday, the search finally ended in Karnal, Haryana, where police traced the Class X student and arrested Shaik John Saida alias Rabbani, the 21-year-old man she had allegedly left home with. Both were brought back to Guntur, Superintendent of Police Vakul Jindal told The Hindu on Saturday.
Key facts
- The girl, a 15-year-old Class X student, had been missing since June 9, 2026.
- The accused, Shaik John Saida alias Rabbani (21), is a resident of Upputuru village in Parchur mandal, Bapatla district.
- Police say the girl left home with nearly 250 grams of gold and more than ₹1 lakh in cash.
- The duo was traced to Karnal, Haryana, on Friday after a nearly three-month-long search.
- Rabbani will be produced before a court on charges of kidnapping the minor girl.
The call that cracked the case
According to the SP, the girl tried to reach her mother through a social media platform on a couple of occasions, including August 26 and September 3. The calls went unanswered. But that second attempt proved decisive — the September 3 call helped police zero in on her location and led directly to the arrest of the accused.
A trail of swapped phones and SIM cards
Investigators say Rabbani, who had allegedly developed a friendship with the girl through Instagram over the last couple of years, worked hard to stay invisible. He reportedly changed mobile phones and SIM cards at different locations, including Nellore, Coimbatore, Palakkad and Secunderabad, to evade tracking.
CCTV footage examined by police allegedly showed him taking the girl on a motorcycle. From there, the probe turned deeply technical: call detail records, IMEI tracking data, Instagram and Gmail information, and IP addresses linked to multiple numbers, devices and accounts. Police teams travelled to Coimbatore, Palakkad, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Nellore, Parchur and Adoni — scanning footage at railway stations and lodges, searching hostels, and making enquiries with Rabbani's family members, friends and social-media contacts. Informers were deployed at various stages.
High Court push, then a special team
The case gained fresh urgency after the girl's father moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court with a habeas corpus petition seeking her production and restoration to the family. Acting on the court's directions, DGP Harish Kumar Gupta constituted a Special Investigation Team to intensify the investigation.
K. Supraja, SP (NC), Crimes, Guntur, was designated to supervise and coordinate the SIT under the overall supervision of SP Vakul Jindal. The team included DSP B. Srinivasa Rao, Pattabhipuram Inspector Ganga Venkateswarlu, IT Core Inspector Md. Nisar Basha, WSI P. Tarangini, SI M. Raj Kumar and other police personnel. Police said the investigation involved continuous verification and follow-up of every lead — a grind that ultimately ended in Haryana.
How the case unfolded
| Date | Development |
|---|---|
| June 9, 2026 | The girl leaves home and goes missing. |
| June 10, 2026 | Pattabhipuram police register a missing case following her father's complaint. |
| August 26, 2026 | The girl attempts to contact her mother via a social media platform; the call goes unanswered. |
| September 3, 2026 | A second call attempt helps police trace her location. |
| Friday | The duo is traced to Karnal, Haryana; the accused is arrested. |
| Saturday | SP Vakul Jindal confirms both have been brought to Guntur. |
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