Two call centre employees have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping a two-year-old son of an Army personnel in Lodhi Colony here and seeking Rs.15 lakh ransom for his release. One of the accused stays in the neighbourhood of the victim.
Lance Naik Shokender lodged a complaint with the police on January 25 saying that his son Vansh was playing outside his official accommodation in Lodhi Road complex around 5 p.m. when he suddenly went missing. A case was registered and the investigation was in progress when Mr. Shokender received a call on his phone and the caller demanded Rs.15 lakh for the safe release of the child.
Investigations revealed that the call was made from Naraina village and the caller was in constant touch with another man on a mobile phone, which was registered in the name of one of the neighbours of the Armyman. Mr. Shokender told the police that one Krishan lived at the address where the mobile phone was registered. Acting on the information, the police detained Krishan who purportedly confessed to his involvement in the crime.
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Krishan told the police that he had kidnapped Vansh and handed him over to his friend Sahib Singh. Raids were mounted at the instance of Krishan and the boy was rescued from a house in Inderpuri with the arrest of Sahib.
The two accused purportedly told the police that they hatched a conspiracy to kidnap Vansh and seek ransom to make easy money.
After Krishan handed over the toddler to Sahib Singh, the latter took the boy to his house in Naraina. Sahib told his parents that the child was his friend’s brother. Around 7 p.m., Sahib took the boy to the Inderpuri house of his friend Manoj Kumar. Sahib told Manoj that the child was his nephew and left him there saying that the family was going to a function.
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The phone being used by Krishan belonged to his maternal aunt Neelam Sharma, the police said.