Bengaluru youth kidnaps school-going boy, arrested

A youth who kidnapped a 11-year-old boy for ransom by copying the modus operandi from a TV programme has landed in the police net.

A joint team of the Cottonpet and Chamarajpet police arrested the accused, Chirag R Mehta (21), a resident of Bull Temple Road in Basavanagudi.

Mehta fell into bad company and needed money to meet their needs. After his father stopped giving him money, to make quick money, he planned to kidnap the boy after watching a crime patrol programme on a TV channel.

The 11-year-old boy is the son of a businessman. One of his staff members would walk the boy to school and bring him back home. Mehta kidnapped the boy from near his school on Cottonpet Main Road around 3 pm after school hours.

The worker called the boy's mother and informed her that someone had taken their son from school. The parents started searching for the boy. Around 4 pm, when they were on their way to the police station, the boy's father got a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as the abductor and demanded Rs 5 lakh. He also threatened to kill his son if he approached the police or attempted to call back.

Soon, the parents complained to the police, who formed a team to nab the abductor. They learnt that the kidnapper was at St Mark's Road and rushed to the spot.

The officials spotted the boy alone near the Police Traffic Park. They rescued the boy and asked him who had brought him to the park. The boy replied that an 'uncle' had brought him there and that he had gone towards the Airlines Hotel. When officials went near the hotel, Mehta fled. The police chased him and caught him.

Mehta confessed to watching the crime programme and following the same modus to stage the kidnapping. He had observed the boy for two to three days, and learnt that the child speaks Marwari language and chose to kidnap him. He introduced himself to the victim as his father’s friend and said he was searching for his brother studying in the same school, who could not be traced.