DCB officials at wits’ end in Vishwa case in Gujarat

Call it an attempt to solve the case or a means to while away time, the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) has identified 25 cellphone numbers to track Vishwa Patel, who has been reported missing since January 27 from her Mira Mangal residence near Shyamal Crossroads.

The DCB, which detected Ahmedabad serial blasts of 2008 in a week, is shooting arrows in the dark in their investigations to find the missing girl.

The 'tough' cases that are reported in Ahmedabad are normally investigated by the DCB. They, over the years, have lived upto their reputation of carrying out excellent investigations with successes in every case they have handled. However, in Vishwa's case, the DCB has failed to get even a single breakthrough.

After taking over the investigations in the matter from Anandnagar police station, the DCB formed eight teams headed by as many police inspectors to scan through the 26 districts of the state to find the missing girl. The teams also visited Mumbai and New Delhi for suspected clues.

CCTV footage of malls and multiplexes were checked and Vishwa's posters were put up at all public spaces and police stations. A ray of hope in the case emerged last month when DCB saw a girl resembling Vishwa in the CCTV footage of a construction site but Vishwa's parents immediately said that the girl in the video was their daughter.

Sources in the DCB say that there seems to be two possibilities in Vishwa's case. She has either left home or has been trapped by miscreants. Cops are not ruling out an insider's hand in her disappearance. According to DCB investigating officer Paresh Solanki, DCB is tracking 25 cellphone numbers of people who are in way connected to Vishwa.

These people include a staff member at her school, her relatives, neighbours and a few other suspects.