Hyderabad: The twin cities witnessed a massive increase in kidnap cases this year. 356 cases of kidnapping were reported this year against 130 in 2013. Although senior police officials say that the jump is due to the registration of missing children as kidnaps, cases like the kidnap of the Musheerabad infant from a maternity hospital still remain a mystery. Gangs of women criminals who target school kids for ornaments are also on the prowl for kidnapping children.

“As per the SC ruling cases of missing cases have to be registered as kidnap cases. This could be a reason for the rise in cases,” said police commissioner Mahender Reddy.

However, experts say that there is a 173 per cent rise in kidnap cases and that the claims of the police are not believable. In 2013 also, the police used to book the missing cases of children as kidnap. In 2012 only 93 cases were registered.

Police officials said the eloping of teenage girls are always considered as kidnap even if they go with lovers consensually. “In our city there were many elopements last year. Many girls aged between 16 and 18 eloped and they were registered as kidnaps,” said a police official. He added that there was a significant rise in detections of kidnap cases this year.

Police officials say that now more victims approach the police as there is a free registration system. Last year a newborn girl was kidnapped by an unidentified woman from Farah Hospital in Musheerabad. A woman named Rehana Begum from Bholakpur gave birth to the girl at the hospital and after three days when the mother and child were shifted to their room, a burqa clad woman walked away with the baby. Several teams investigated the case but it still remains a mystery. There are many kidnap cases that remain unsolved.

There were cases this year in which unidentified women lured primary girl students at the time of lunch and stole their ornaments. They walked away with the girls, took their ornaments and later abandoned them. These cases were also registered as kidnaps.