The kidnapping of a six-year-old boy from Saki Naka turned out to be a double whammy for his father. Not only did it lead to high stress levels for hours till his son was found, it also revealed his extra-marital affair, as the kidnapper was none other than his mistress.
According to the Saki Naka police, Ayaan Chaudhary (6), who stays with his parents near the Holiday Inn hotel in Saki Naka, went missing on Sunday afternoon. He was last seen playing outside his house, but when his mother went out to call him for lunch at around 3:00 p.m., he was not found. His father, Nisar Chaudhary, informed the Saki Naka police, and a complaint of kidnapping was registered against unknown persons. “We searched for CCTV cameras and found one mounted over the entrance to an institute in the vicinity. While scanning the footage, we saw a woman with Ayaan pass by. The camera had captured them for a few seconds, and the woman had covered her face with a stole,” said senior police inspector Avinash Dharmadhikari, Saki Naka police station. The police then showed the footage to Mr. Chaudhary, who, after some reluctance, said that the woman looked like Supriya Shinde, a former resident of his locality, who he had been having an extra-marital affair with for the last 10 years.
“The revelation came as a shock to Mr. Chaudhary’s wife, who was present at the time. She had no idea about the affair and was stunned to hear her husband tell us about it,” said an officer, who was part of the investigating team.
The police team then extracted details about Shinde, including the fact that she had visited Mr. Chaudhary’s residence, had a fight with him, and left in a rage minutes before Ayaan went missing. The police then went to Shinde’s residence in Jari Mari in Saki Naka.
Shinde was in her house and claimed to have no idea about the boy. When the police team confronted with the CCTV footage and Mr. Chaudhary’s statement about the altercation, Shinde confessed to have kidnapped Ayaan. She then brought him from a neighbour’s residence, where she had left him to play. Ayaan was reunited with his family three hours after he was kidnapped.
“Shinde and Mr. Chaudhary were having an affair for 10 years, but relations soured recently. She felt that Mr. Chaudhary was beginning to neglect her. On Sunday, she had come to Mr. Chaudhary’s residence while his wife was away, and they had a fight. While on her way-out, she saw Ayaan playing outside and decided to kidnap him to teach Mr. Chaudhary a lesson,” Mr. Dharmadhikari said.
Shinde was arrested and produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court on Andheri on Monday, where she was remanded in judicial custody. She subsequently applied for bail, which was granted on Monday evening.
The writer is an intern at The Hindu
