An 11-year-old boy kidnapped from near his house in Rajendra Nagar here on Saturday was rescued in less than 24 hours with the arrest of a realtor.
The father of the victim’s classmate is the prime accused in the case and is absconding. The accused had demanded Rs.1.5 crore from the victim’s family for his safe return.
Harmeet had gone to get his father’s mobile phone recharged from a shop near his house in Rajendra Nagar on Saturday around 6 p.m. when he was kidnapped by someone in a white car. Some 40 minutes later, his mother Jasvinder Kaur received a ransom call on her mobile phone.
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The caller demanded Rs.1.5 crore. She immediately call up the Police Control Room, following which a police team reached her house.
It was learnt during investigation that Harpreet Singh, the father of Harmeet’s classmate, had contacted the family a week ago to buy a shop. When contacted, the family of the prime accused told the police that he had gone to arrange for money for the shop.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family received two more ransom calls and the caller asked them to deliver the money on July 7 around 11 a.m. The ransom money was arranged to ensure the child’s safety.
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Technical surveillance revealed that the calls were being made from Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. It was further learnt that Harpreet, a small-time realtor, used to visit his friend Harpal Singh (42), also a realtor, in Bhiwadi.
A police team already stationed in Bhiwadi located Harpal’s office and arrested him after he purportedly confessed to having made the ransom calls.
The boy was rescued from Rewari railway station in Haryana at his instance. Harpreet, however, managed to escape.
The vehicle used in the crime has also been seized.