Bengaluru woman who had ‘gone missing’ from COVID-19 ambulance had staged ‘kidnapping’ to get away from husband: Police

Captain P Manivannan, special officer for Bommanahalli zone, said that the department would file a criminal complaint against the woman's family for 'suppressing facts and misleading the authorities'.

Bengaluru Police have alleged that the 28-year-old women Anjali (name changed) who went missing after she was picked up in an ambulance on account of being COVID-19 positive had staged her own kidnapping. The police have described the woman’s planned disappearance as a runaway case.

On September 3, an alleged screening camp was held in Bommanahalli in Bengaluru where the woman got herself tested for coronavirus. On September 4 she was reportedly informed that she was positive. An ambulance was sent to pick up Anjali and her family had not seen her since. Her husband had filed a missing complaint with the city police in this regard.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike calls the kidnapping fake

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which was informed about the incident, confirmed that no such screening camp was held from their side on the given date and that the ambulance too did not belong to them. The ambulance was reportedly private and no screening or testing was performed by the BBMP in that locality on that time.

The BBMP also stated that they do not pick up patients before sending SMSes with the driver’s phone number, identity details and moreover, all govt ambulances are fitted with GPS and end-to-end tracking is done.

Bengaluru police claimed that the woman has been traced to Delhi’s Paharganj area

The Bengaluru police claimed that the woman has been traced to Delhi’s Paharganj area. In its statement, the city police said that the 28-year-old customer service executive and her husband had a dispute, after which she planned to leave her house and sought the help of her friend to execute the plan.

The 28-year-old customer service executive planned her own kidnapping

On September 8, Anjali called up the investigating officer to confirm that she was safe and would sort out the matter with her husband later. The call was recorded and played to the complainant who identified the voice to be that of his wife.

After the police investigation, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) accused the woman’s family of distorting and misrepresenting facts to the police.

On Sunday, Captain P Manivannan, special officer for Bommanahalli zone, said that the department would file a criminal complaint against the family for “suppressing facts and misleading the authorities”.

Meanwhile, Anjali’s (name changed) brother-in-law, Vikas Kumar insisted that Anjali has genuinely been kidnapped. “If she wanted to run away, she could have done so before. She used to move around freely. In fact, on the afternoon of September 3, she even attended a job interview in Adugodi. She could have run away then. Who would go to the extent of setting up an elaborate fake Covid testing camp and a fake ambulance?” he said.