It was a risky move as the rescue operation was just about to get busted, when the police lost track of the kidnapper along with the seven-month-old toddler. However, leading the charge IPS officer Sudhanshu Dhama and team successfully rescued the boy and caught the accused.
A B.Tech graduate, Priyanshu, who was currently doing his apprenticeship in Sahibabad, Noida allegedly kidnapped the boy on Friday 9 April, for a ransom of 40 lakh to “live happily’’ with his girlfriend in Kanpur.
APPROACHING THE BOY
Talking to the media, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Parvinder Singh said that on Friday afternoon a phone call was received by the Outer Delhi’s Ranhola police in which a kidnapping case was registered against the tenant for abducting a seven-month-old child for a ransom of Rs. 40 lakhs.
Acting upon the information, the police team including Station House Officer Inspector Vimal reached the caller’s home. Speaking to the child’s mother Shivi Kaushik, they found out that the alleged kidnapper was living at the second floor in their residence as a tenant.
She further told the police that the tenant approached her in the morning to play with the child but she refused him as the child was sleeping at the moment. The tenant waited for the child to wake up and picked him up as soon as his mother went out of the room.
WARNING THE FAMILLY
Later, when the mother found the child missing, she immediately informed her husband Sidhartha Kaushik who is a pharmacist working in Okhla, Delhi. After some time, the family received a call from the kidnapper asking for a ransom of Rs. 40 lakhs. The kidnapper also warned them not to approach the police for the safety of the boy.
But the family took the police help and a case was registered. The police started the rescue operation and Additional DCP Sudhanshu Dhama took the lead charge. The officer then sticked together with family and started communicating with the kidnapper as the father of the child.
The officer knew the risk involved in the case and was acting accordingly. While speaking to the media, he recalled “It was till the success of the operation that the kidnapper didn’t get even a single hint about the involvement of police in the case. He was also switching his phone off, every now and then, to stay out of our radar.”
THE POLICE SETS THE TRAP
The officer took over the father’s mobile and started communication with the kidnapper to gain his trust. He told the media, “I asked him questions about the child. I also told him not to come near Mohan Garden and to stay away from the police.”
To build more trust, the officer acted smart and transferred forty thousand rupees to the accused’s account. On tracking the kidnapper continuously, the police found out that he went to Uttam Nagar from which he went to places like Pandav Nagar, Anand Vihar, Vasundhra and Vaishali via cab. The police got cautious when the kidnapper started moving towards Aerocity and Mehram Nagar, thinking the he could flee the city. Mr Dhama then tried to ask the kidnapper to come to Lajwanti Chowk, where they would be able to apprehend him and rescue the child. However, the police lost the location when the kidnapper was just 800 metres away.
Mr. Dhama told the media, “The kidnapper was also warning the family to threaten the child, which made them frightened and panicky. However, we took the risk and tried to track the kidnapper. We lost him again when he was just close by 140 metres, after which the police team dressed as civilians intercepted the car and rescued the child.”
Seeing the police team, the kidnapper fled the scene but was nabbed six hours later with the help of technical intelligence. During interrogation, the police found out that the kidnapper allegedly wanted money to meet the demands of his girlfriend and settle in Kanpur with her.
