A Glenview man is facing multiple felonies after he allegedly tried to kidnap a girl off a Glenview street at the end of January, police said Thursday.
Pratib Ranjit, 24, of the 4100 block of Cove Lane, Glenview, was charged with felony aggravated battery and felony unlawful restraint on Feb. 1 in the Jan. 30 incident near Milwaukee Avenue and Kennicott Lane in the north suburb, police said Thursday.
They said Glenview police responded to the area of Milwaukee Avenue and Kennicott Lane on Jan. 30 on a report of an “attempt kidnapping.” A preliminary investigation revealed that a female student got off a school bus when Ranjit allegedly grabbed her and they fell to the ground. The female victim struck Ranjit and he ran away and was seen entering an SUV-style vehicle, which fled south on Milwaukee Avenue. The female student was not injured during the incident, said police.
They did not say what led to Ranjit’s arrest.
The Glenview incident came a week after a similar crime in Evanston.
On Jan. 23, at approximately 4 p.m. Evanston police responded to an “attempted kidnapping” that took place in the 1200 block of Fowler Avenue and that officers met an 18-year-old Evanston resident who told them that approximately 20 minutes earlier she was walking south bound in the 1200 block of Fowler Avenue when she saw a small newer gray 4-door vehicle driving toward her. She said the vehicle parked across the street and that two “male offenders” exited the vehicle approached her, then grabbed and picked her up. She was able to fight and free herself and ran to her place of employment in the 2400 block of Main Street. She was not injured in the incident, police said.
The victim said she did not know the race or ages of the offenders, said police. They said one of the offender was wearing a gray hoodie, black pants, and a black ski mask, and the second offender was in all black clothing, including a black hoodie and black ski mask. There are no additional vehicle descriptors, said police.
Even though the investigation did not reveal any continued threats to the public, Evanston police advised the community to use caution and report any suspicious circumstances, police said in a release. On Thursday they said there has not yet been an arrest in that crime. They also said there were trying to determine if the victim was targeted or picked at random.