Ahmedabad SHE Teams rescued a 15-year-old girl who lost her way after leaving home for garba, reunited six children with their families and escorted another young woman home during late-night festival patrols, police said on October 17.
The teenager, from Anandnagar, had left her home without informing her parents after they refused to allow her to attend garba alone. She had no phone and was found crying near the YMCA Club on SG Highway at about 1.45 am on Wednesday by a SHE Team patrolling the stretch.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Himala Joshi said the team contacted the girl’s parents and reunited her with them. Police also counselled her against going out alone at night without informing her family.
In a separate case, a young woman who had attended garba lost her way while returning home. Police personnel rescued her and escorted her safely to her residence. Six children who became separated from their parents at different garba venues were also traced and reunited with their families, according to the report.
The incidents have unfolded as Ahmedabad hosts large numbers of late-night garba events across major venues and smaller local celebrations. Over the past five nights, 49 SHE Teams equipped with body-worn cameras inspected 86 major garba venues and 357 smaller venues, police said.
Women police personnel deployed as decoys have been monitoring for harassment, suspicious visitors and people secretly recording women and girls during the events. A SHE Team member said an average of five suspicious people were checked at each major venue every night. Their mobile phones were examined, and those found behaving suspiciously were removed from the venues, according to police sources.
The deployment extends beyond garba grounds. In another incident, two minor girls aged 15 and 12 left their homes saying they were going to school but were later found at Sabarmati railway station. The Local Crime Branch of Western Railway, Ahmedabad, rescued them with the assistance of Sabarmati Railway Police after tracking them through human intelligence and technical inputs.
Police have asked parents to ensure that children can contact their families if they become separated or go missing. Joshi advised children to memorise their parents’ mobile numbers or carry the numbers written on a paper slip in their pockets, saying this would help police reach their families quickly.
The patrols and rescues highlight the operational demands created by large, dispersed public events that continue late into the night. For families attending garba, the immediate safety measures identified by police include keeping children’s contact details accessible, informing parents before leaving and seeking help from uniformed personnel if someone becomes lost or separated.
The SHE Teams are continuing venue inspections and patrols during the ongoing garba celebrations, while railway police remain involved in tracing and rescuing minors reported missing from their homes.
