Missing Seven-Year-Old Girl Found Safe After Police Scan Footage From 948 CCTV Cameras

Thane, 4th June 2026: A seven-year-old girl who went missing from Thane’s Diva area was traced safely in Badlapur after an extensive police operation that involved scanning footage from as many as 948 CCTV cameras across the region, officials said on Thursday.

The girl disappeared from her residence on the evening of May 28, prompting the Mumbra Police to register a kidnapping case and launch a massive search operation. Six dedicated police teams were formed to trace the child, while officers began reviewing CCTV footage from various locations.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Balasaheb Patil, the first breakthrough came on May 29 when a surveillance camera captured the girl in her neighbourhood. Investigators then tracked her movements through footage from 67 additional cameras, eventually determining that she had reached Diva railway station on May 30.

Police found that the girl had boarded a local train with an unidentified man. Search teams were immediately dispatched to railway stations along the route. CCTV footage later revealed that the pair got off at Ambernath station before boarding another train to Badlapur, where they arrived at around 12.17 a.m. on May 31.

“It was a battle against time. Tracing a missing seven-year-old in a densely populated railway network with zero initial physical evidence is an investigator’s worst nightmare,” said DCP Balasaheb Patil.

A 45-member police contingent subsequently launched an intensive search operation in Badlapur. After reviewing footage from a staggering 948 CCTV cameras, officers finally traced the girl to the residence of 35-year-old Sumit Shantaram Jadhav.

Police said the child was found safe at Jadhav’s house, where she was staying with his three minor children. During questioning, Jadhav told investigators that he had been living separately from his wife for the past one-and-a-half years due to disputes related to childcare. He also claimed that his own daughter had previously been subjected to abuse and that he wanted to ensure the missing girl’s safety.

During the investigation, the girl informed police that she had run away from home because she was allegedly subjected to ill-treatment by her parents and was burdened with excessive household chores.

The child has been safely recovered, and further investigation is underway to verify all aspects of the case and determine whether any legal action is required against those involved.

The successful rescue operation has been hailed as a remarkable example of coordinated police work and the effective use of surveillance technology in locating missing children.