803 kids abducted this year, 233 still missing, say cops

THANE: More than 800 children were kidnapped from areas under the Thane police commissionerate so far this year. Of these, 233 kids (29%) are yet to be traced, police said on Friday.

Till November 13, 2019, 803 children were kidnapped, of which 570 were traced. The statistics were released on Children’s Day on Thursday.

In 2018, 1,025 children were kidnapped, of which 901 were rescued, the police said. Altogether, 1,828 children were kidnapped in 2018 and 2019 (till November 13). Of these 1,190 were girls, they said.

A week-long programme on issues such as children’s rights and exploitation is being organised by the commissionerate. The programme started on November 14.

THANE: A fire broke out in the meter box of a 20-year-old residential building at Louis Wadi in Thane on Friday. More than 140 residents of Shree Raj Darshan Building were evacuated before the fire could spread.

The Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of Thane Municipal Corporation said no one was injured in the fire.

Santosh Kadam, chief of RDMC, said, “The fire broke out at 2.30am on Friday when most of residents were asleep. The fire broke out in the meter box due to short circuit and spread fast. It took the fire brigade department around 45 minutes to douse the flames. Two fire engine and two rescue vehicles were pressed into service to douse the fire.”

The four-storey building does not have lift. The meter box was just below the stairs. Though the building had installed fire extinguishers, by the time the residents came to know about the fire they could not access the stairs to use the fire-extinguishers.

Kadam said, “The residents woke up when they heard continuous blasts from the meter room. By the time they tried to use the extinguisher, the flames were intense. They rushed to the terrace. The residents on the upper floors rushed to the terrace but those on the lower floors were stuck. We asked them to stand near the windows as there was no way they could use the stairs.”

Kadam said after the fire was doused, residents were bought to the open area. Forty meter boxes were charred. “The electricity supply of the building is cut off though the residents were allowed to shift back to the building,” he added.