A seven-year-old boy who was kidnapped for ransom from his north-west Delhi residence here was rescued within 24 hours, the police said on Monday.
According to the police, two men identified as Mohammad Kapil and Hasan Raza were arrested for their involvement in the incident. A juvenile accomplice was also apprehended.
Men on scooty
“On the evening of February 25, the missing boy's mother reported that unknown persons on a scooty had kidnapped her seven-year-old son from outside her house in Shree Nagar near Raja Park when she was out at work. A case was registered at the Subhash Place police station and initial investigation was taken up,” said a senior police officer.
According to the police, the child's mother received a call from an unknown phone number at 7 a.m. the next day with an unknown person telling her that her child was in their custody and would be released only in return for ₹5 lakh. The caller further told her that he would call her back at 3 p.m. to let her know the place and mode of payment.
“To quickly and safely rescue the child, a massive operation was planned and teams were deployed at all the railway stations and major bus terminals in Delhi with the photo of the boy being circulated and police teams conducting intensive inquiries and searches,” the officer further said.
A breakthrough quickly followed in the form of an input from a girl living in the abducted child's neighbourhood who was also his classmate. The girl told the police that the two wheeler-borne abductors had lured him away by offering to ferry him to his uncle. The eyewitness also confirmed that the boy went with his abductors without any resistance leading the police to realise that it was highly likely that the kidnappers were well known to the boy and his family.
Search conducted
“The ransom call was made to the victim's mother’s phone at around 7 a.m the next day from a PCO booth at the New Delhi railway station. In addition to conducting an enquiry near the residence of the victim and the neighbourhood areas, parking lots were also searched for the scooty whose registration number was partly known to us,” the officer said.
During the course of investigation, the police said, the mother of the victim informed the police that she doesn't live with her husband and that they had an estranged relationship.
Old lover
It also came to light that the sister of the victim's mother had a love affair with someone. The investigators then began to strongly suspect the involvement of the old lover Mohammad Kapil, a resident of Shakurpur who was later traced and questioned, leading to his admitting his involvement and the recovery of the abducted child.
“Kapil hatched this whole conspiracy to teach the victim's family, mainly his maternal grandfather, a lesson because they had pressured his lover, the maternal aunt of the victim, to end her relationship with him. He also roped in his friend Raza and a juvenile for the abduction,” the officer added.
