Vadodara: Gujarat Police launched a statewide campaign, Operation Milap, to trace missing children and adults and reunite them with their families. Following the success of the initial drive, the campaign was extended by another 10 days. During this extended phase, police traced 500 missing children and adults and reunited them with their families.

One such case was from Vadodara, where a family had been distraught for the past five months after their 14-year-old daughter went missing. Gujarat Police eventually traced the minor in Karnataka, nearly 1,200 km away, rescued her safely, and reunited her with her family.

The girl had gone missing from Vadodara’s Chhani area on December 18, 2025. The local police investigated the case for several months before it was transferred to the Vadodara Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) after initial efforts yielded no breakthrough.

Using technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, investigators traced the accused, Sunilkumar Kesarisinh Bariya, to Shivamogga in Karnataka. According to the police, the accused had lured the minor girl away. After completing a priest’s course in Jaipur, he assumed a new identity and began working as a priest at a Jain temple in Shivamogga. Police said he falsely introduced the girl as his wife and kept her there.

A five-member team from the Vadodara AHTU, including a woman police officer, travelled to Karnataka. With assistance from the local police, the team kept the temple under surveillance for two days despite heavy rain. On the third day, at around 4 am, the accused was arrested when he arrived at the temple. During interrogation, he disclosed the girl’s whereabouts, following which the police rescued her safely and reunited her with her family.

Gujarat Additional Director General of Police (Women Cell, CID Crime), Ajay Chaudhary, said, “After the success of the one-month Operation Milap, we extended the campaign by another 10 days and successfully traced and reunited 500 missing children and adults with their families. This extended campaign was conducted from June 12 to June 21.”

Earlier, during the month-long Operation Milap conducted from May 7 to June 5, Gujarat Police had traced 1,478 missing persons, including 857 women and 234 minor girls.

During the 10-day extension, Gujarat Police traced and reunited another 500 missing persons with their families, including 288 women, 88 girls, 21 boys, and 103 men. DeshGujarat