Kolkata, April 11 (NationPress) Four ninth-grade girls who vanished from their school were successfully located within 12 hours by the team from Kolkata's Amherst Street police station, as confirmed by a senior Kolkata Police officer on Saturday.

This dramatic event unfolded at 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the historic Arya Kanya School located on Bidhan Sarani in north Kolkata.

The situation began on April 8 when the four students attended school like any typical day. However, after classes concluded, they failed to return home. Concerned parents hurried to the local Amherst Street police station, where they filed a kidnapping report. Acting on their complaint, Officer-in-Charge Shubhdeep Chakraborty led a team from the Amherst Street police station to initiate an immediate investigation.

According to a police official, the Kolkata Police began reviewing CCTV footage from Howrah and Sealdah stations in the afternoon. The images of the four missing girls were shared with the Government Railway Police, Railway Protection Force, and vendors in the vicinity.

Investigative sources revealed that the students had changed out of their school uniforms in the restroom of the Old Complex at Howrah Station before boarding a long-distance train. Coincidentally, trains heading to Mumbai and Asansol were departing from Howrah at that time.

During preliminary inquiries, the investigation team discovered through questioning classmates that the girls had recently faced reprimands for visiting a hookah bar in Kolkata without their parents’ knowledge.

Additionally, a friend of one of the girls informed the police that one of the students had connected with an 18-year-old from Asansol via Instagram. The girls had previously met him a few days prior when he visited Kolkata for business.

On Wednesday night, a police unit from the Amherst Street station traveled to Asansol. Upon arrival, they were informed by the local police of a youth and a minor girl who had been injured in a motorcycle accident during a checkpoint at approximately 11:30 p.m. After searching, the police located the young man in the hospital. Following their inquiries, the Kolkata Police discovered the presence of the four girls in Asansol.

The girls had attempted to check into several hotels in Asansol for the night, but none would accommodate them due to their minor status. Ultimately, the Kolkata Police rescued all four girls unharmed from Asansol station at around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday. They were transported back to Kolkata on Thursday afternoon and are currently placed in a safe home.

"The investigation is ongoing to uncover the reasons behind the girls' trip to Asansol and who facilitated their journey. We are determined to understand the motivations that led the girls to leave school without informing their parents, culminating in their situation in Asansol. Our goal is to solve the mystery of their disappearance," stated the senior officer from Kolkata Police.