Bangalore: Kidnapped boy rescued

DHNS

• Rs 50 lakh ransom demanded; 1 held, prime accused at large

 

Bangalore, 25 August 2011: A four-year-old boy, who was allegedly kidnapped for ransom by five persons when he was playing near his house in Doddaballapur town three days ago, was rescued from Gauribidnur in Chikkaballapur district, on Wednesday. Police have arrested one of the five suspects but the kingpin is still at large.

 

Brundan, son of Gurushankar and Geetha, was abducted by the suspects when he was playing near his house on Sunday morning. The panic-stricken parents informed the police who registered a complaint and began the probe.

 

There was, however, no word from the kidnappers for the next 24 hours. It was only at 11 am on Monday that an 11-year-old boy came to the house of Gurushankar and delivered a mysterious parcel. When asked about the sender, the boy merely said that two motorcycle-borne persons paid him Rs 30 to deliver the parcel.

 

When opened, the cover of a face wash cream was found in the parcel. There, a nine-letter mobile number (9611 93681-) was written with the tenth spot left blank.

 

Swung in action

 

The recipients were asked to fill one of the digits from 0 to nine in the tenth spot and call the kidnappers to know about the boy’s fate. The parents then approached the police who swung in action and formed three teams headed by Doddaballapur DySP, V Sridhar, to nab the culprits.

 

The police teams tracked the phone number and succeeded in nabbing one of the suspects, Shekhar, at Gauribidanur at noon. The boy was also rescued.

 

Bangalore Rural SP D Prakash said that Naveen, a resident of Doddaballapur, was the prime suspect, who had conspired the whole plan. He also roped in his friends – Shekhar, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, Kumar, Loki, and Swami.

 

The suspects had worked at Ever Blue Apparel Ltd, a garment firm in Doddaballapur, and became friends.

 

Police got the breakthrough when the suspects made another ransom call to the parents from a public call office (PCO) in Hebbagodi on the outskirts of Bangalore at 11.45 am on Tuesday. Also, Papaiah identified his close friend Naveen’s photo when police showed him one.

 

The culprits wanted to blackmail Gurushankar, whose main business is real estate, although he also runs an electronics and furniture goods shop. They demanded Rs 50 lakh for releasing Brundan.

 

The culprits took the boy to Nagasandra in Madhugiri taluk in Tumkur district on Sunday. There they lodged him at the house of Shekhar’s relative, saying “the boy’s mother was hospitalised and no one was there to look after him”. Later, they brought him to Gauribidanur from where he was again shifted to Nagasandra, Prakash added. A manhunt has been launched to nab the four suspects.