The girl, Najma, was found on June 4, after Gurubaksh Mehta, Station House Officer of Gokulpuri Police Station released her picture to the press.

``The girl came here along with her parents who had come to attend the burial of a relative on March 26,'' SHO Mehta said. The girl's father, Abdul Salam, a mason, is a resident of the slums on Minto Road. ``The parents were busy and the little girl wandered away into the narrow alleys. She soon lost her way and wandered aimlessly in Gokulpuri. Her parents lodged a complaint with the police,'' SHO Mehta said.

``The girl then reportedly reached Loni border and was discovered by Riyazzudin, a resident of Behta Village. In his ignorance, however, he didn't inform the police but started looking after the girl on his own,'' SHO Mehta said. Riyazzudin, a factory owner, left messages with various neghbours in the area about the missing girl. Meanwhile, acting on the FIR lodged by Abdul Salam, SHO Mehta went to the press with the photograph. ``We sent the photograph with our press releases on June 4 and a number of Hindi dailies published it. Riyazzudin reportedly saw one of these news reports, identified the girl and contacted the police,'' the SHO says.

Initially, a case of kidnapping was lodged against the man, but SHO Mehta has now decided to scrap the case. ``It isn't kidnapping because Riyazzudin was acting in good faith and came to the police with the girl as soon as he saw the photograph.''The girl was re-united with her parents on June 4. On why the idea didn't strike him before this, SHO Mehta said the girl's family were unable to arrange a photograph of the girl.