There were sighs of relief across the Gatesville community in Cape Town after the kidnapped 8-year-old girl Abirah Dekhtar was found in Khayelitsha on Monday.
Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed the 8-year-old had been found.
“SAPS members from various specialised units and City of Cape Town's law enforcement officials utilising state of the art technology have located her in a shack in Town Two, Khayelitsha on Monday evening.
“The intelligence-led integrated operation saw forces descending on the township where the young girl was found. She has since been sent to a doctor for a medical assessment,” Twigg told IOL.
“Meanwhile investigations into the crime of kidnapping continue with police detectives currently questioning several individuals with a view to apprehending the perpetrators of the crime.
“The child will be united with her family after the medical assessment has been finalised,” he said.
The 8-year-old Abirah Dekhta was snatched while seated in her lift club vehicle in Amber Court in Gatesville.
The Rylands Primary School pupil was abducted on the morning of November 4 while they were waiting for another pupil.
Her father is a cellphone businessman and the family is originally from India, the Cape Times reported.
Details were still sketchy surrounding how the missing child was found.
Earlier on Monday afternoon, the Gatesville community took to the streets to demand Abidah’s safe return.
The community members were seen along Klipfontein and Jake's Gerwel roads, holding placards, pleading and protesting for her safe return.
“We want Abirah. We want justice. Bring back Abirah!” the protesters chanted, according to the Cape Times.