Four goons kidnapped Snapdeal executive, but let her go finally.
AB Wire
The worst fears of a mother came true for Vandana Sarna after she came to know that her 24-year-old daughter Dipti Sarna, an employee of the popular e-commerce website Snapdeal, went missing after she boarded an auto-rickshaw to get back home in Ghazaibad after work in Gurgaon. The Sarna family, and all of India, feared the worst, deluged as the country has been with incessant news of horrible gang rapes and gruesome murders.
But, Vandana Sarna’s prayers have also come true, and India can take a sigh of relief: after almost 36 hours of search and rescue operations, Dipti Sarna returned home on Friday morning after fleeing from four abductors. Reports say she was unharmed by her kidnappers, who let her go crumbling to pressure from the massive search operations launched by the Uttar Pradesh government.
Dipti Sarna went missing from Ghaziabad on February 10. The social media went into a rage with hashtag #HelpFindDipti after Snapdeal posted on its official Twitter wall “Our friend Dipti Sarna is missing since yesterday. Please DM any info you might have & #HelpFindDipti”
“Dipti’s friend said that something had happened to her. They were talking on the phone when he heard her scream and the call got disconnected. He asked me to look for her,” said Narendra Sarna, Dipti’s father.
“Everyday, she would call us twice on her way back home. Once when she reached the metro station and then again when she was near the Hindon bridge. Her father would then pick her up,” said Vandana Sarna.
Soon after this, the CEO of the e-commerce company also went online to seek help to find Sarna who joined Snapdeal as an executive in the firm’s legal department, on April 2015.
“We are extremely disturbed with the reported abduction of our team member. Her security and safety is our topmost priority. We are doing everything to support and work with the authorities in their investigation. The entire Snapdeal family is united in their support and prayer for her safe return,” a Snapdeal spokesperson told The Hindustan Times.
Reports said Dipti Sarna after fleeing from her kidnappers on Friday, reached Delhi and informed the Ghaziabad police that she managed to escape from four goons, who entered the auto that she hired to reach the bus station from the Vaishali metro station on that fateful night.
According to the Ghaziabad SSP Dharmendra Singh, the men who abducted Dipti were “illiterate and local goons” but soon after knowing that there is a massive search and rescue operation on for her, propelled by tweet of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, fearing arrest, they let her go.
The SSP also confirmed that the goons didn’t cause any physical harm to Dipti. He said that they will give time for her to rest and recuperate from the shock of the ordeal, after which they will question her and based on her inputs draw a sketch of the four men.
According to Dipti, the four goons after coming to know about the massive manhunt got afraid of being caught and rather than hiding, they kept driving the entire day with her. The men made her walk close to 10 Km., asked her to board an i10 car and later even a bike.
But after realizing that there is no chance of escape, the goons decided to let Dipti go and put her on a train to Delhi at a suburban railway station in Panipat, in Haryana. Ironically they even gave her some money to reach home.
When Dipti reached Narela railway station she finally got a chance to call her family using a fellow passenger’s phone.
According to the details provided by Dipti to the police, she was travelling in an auto that broke down half way, which forced all the passengers to board on another auto to the Ghaziabad bus stand. Soon after that, the other woman passenger in the auto was pull out by the four men near Hindon river.
Dipti was on phone with her friend when the men snatched her bag and phone. But Dipti’s loud cry was audible to her friend. The men then drove the auto to a location near Raj Nagar where they changed the vehicle and drove the whole night before letting her go.
Social Media updates
Dipti has been found and reunited with her family. Will update with more details. Thank you for all your support and prayers. #HelpFindDipti
— Snapdeal (@snapdeal) February 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/CMOfficeUP/status/698012242323714048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Our team is our family https://t.co/PksCWIOwXo
— Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) February 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/snapdeal/status/697773047378358273/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw