Babitha Jasmine: Girl behind the 'crucial' train photo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “I never thought the photo would turn out to be that crucial,” says Babitha Jasmine, whose photo helped police track the missing Assam native girl. It was Babitha, who handed over the photo taken from Island Express, heading towards Kanyakumari.

Babitha talks to Kerala Kaumudi:

“Due to heavy wind, the power went off in our house during the early hours of Wednesday. I got up at that time and immediately clicked YouTube to get updates on the weather. During this time, I chanced upon some news regarding the missing girl. It was shocking because I felt I had seen this girl during my train travel one day before. I also had a photo and checked it twice before calling the Kazhakuttam police station.

I saw the girl crying on the train and felt like taking a photo. When I framed her, she moved her head away in anger. I also noticed a few ten rupee notes crumbled on her hands. I thought her relatives were nearby and didn’t feel the need to talk.”

Babitha is studying medical coding at Transorze near general hospital. She was returning home after class on Tuesday when saw the missing girl on the train. On Thursday morning, the Kazhakuttam cyber city assistant commissioner’s message thanking the efforts reached Babitha. MP AA Rahim called Babitha on the phone and congratulated her. Her educational institution praised her and also gifted her many books. Babitha is the younger daughter of Vatsalan and Suja Jasmine. She is a native of Neyyattinkara.