It was a crime that not only involved commission of murder and robbery, but also threw an onerous challenge of rescuing a three-your-old from the clutches of those who had smothered his mother.
The boy, who was kidnapped from his house in Mayur Vihar Phase III this past Saturday, was rescued two days later after a dramatic chase. So far two persons have been arrested in this connection while one is still at large.
Releasing details of the operation at a press conference here on Wednesday, a senior police officer said it required a dramatic swim across the Ganga by an Uttarakhand Police constable to chase and nab one of the accused in the operation’s final leg. “The operation needed a combination of both technical and manual surveillance for it to be carried out successfully,” he added.
“After murdering the boy’s mother Mohi, they hid her body under the bed and ransacked the room. Besides taking jewellery and mobile phones, they kidnapped Mohi’s son Ishu. Their maid Beena, an eyewitness to the crime, informed Mohi’s husband Inamullah about the incident and that the assailants had demanded Rs.50 lakh for the child’s release. Inamullah himself received a call from his wife’s mobile phone soon after where the accused reiterated their demand,” said the officer adding that the accused had also injected some liquid into Mohi’s body.
What followed was a hide-and-seek game between the kidnappers and the police. Initial surveillance pointed that the ransom calls were made from Moradabad in western Uttar Pradesh. Soon after reaching Moradabad, the three accused – Vijay (a former employee of the boy’s father Inamullah) and his accomplices Sachin and Keshav moved to neighbouring Uttarakhand.
Raiding teams were dispatched to western U.P. and Uttarakhand.
On Monday, the accused were traced to Haridwar in Uttarakhand following which teams were sent there and the local police also joined the rescue operations.
“Hotels, railway stations, parking areas, ashrams etc. were searched discreetly by cops in plain clothes. In the evening, a team consisting of SI Arun of Special Staff, East District, and Constable Vivek of Uttarakhand Police zeroed in on three persons with a child in front of an old age home,” said the officer.
During the confrontation, SI Arun took the child in his custody and was attacked by Vijay with a surgical knife. Arun sustained an injury on his arm in his effort to save the child. Another accused Sachin allegedly attacked constable Vivek on the side of his stomach, then ran away and so did the third accused Keshav.
“While the injured policemen were being taken to hospital, they saw Sachin moving towards the Ganga. At this Vivek jumped from the car and chased Sachin despite being injured. Sachin jumped into the river but Vivek swam past him and blocked his way. After this, both the accused were arrested and a case for attempt to murder was lodged at PS Kotwali, Haridwar,” said the officer.
During interrogation, 23-year-old Vijay purportedly revealed that he had been working as a salesman at a mobile shop owned by Inamullah who closed the shop, leaving him jobless. As Inamullah went ahead and set up a new business, Vijay allegedly hatched the conspiracy to earn easy money through a burglary at his former employer’s house.
