Boy kidnapped for Rs 2 crore rescued after 15-kilometre chase

Bengaluru police rescued an 11-year-old boy just 16 hours after a gang kidnapped him for a ransom of Rs 2 crore.

The younger son of an apparel businessman was kidnapped from Thimmaiah Road after the couple left him at home and went to Commercial Street for shopping around 6 pm on August 27.

When the couple returned home later that evening, they found the son missing. They looked for him all around but there was no trace of him. The father informed the police.

Around 1 am, the boy’s father received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller said they had kidnapped the boy and demanded a ransom of Rs 2 crore for his release. He also warned the businessman against going to the police. The boy’s father went to the police nevertheless.

Soon after, police started tracking the kidnappers. The tower location of the unknown number showed its user was in Tumakuru. Police also learnt that the boy was taken away by two men while he was playing at home. One of these men was identified as Hashim.

Acting on the leads, police rushed to Tumakuru. Posing as the boy’s parents, they tried to contact the miscreants. But the gang became suspicious and drove out of their hideout.

Police decided to give chase. In true filmy style, cops had to chase the kidnappers for 15 long kilometres. It was only when the kidnappers’ car got stuck in a farmland that the cops could catch them and rescue the boy.

The mastermind turned out to be a customer of the boy’s father. According to police, Mohammed Zain had visited the businessman’s store and found the business was booming. He hatched a plan to kidnap the boy and roped in his friends, Faheem, Muzzamil, Faizan, Mohammed Shahid, Kaleem and others.

The gang gathered details of the businessman’s properties and family and recceed them for a month. Two men lured the boy with kites, his favourite. They forced him into their car and sedated him with a sleeping pill dissolved in a soft drink. They then drove to Tumakuru.

Zain allegedly attacked constable Ujjana Gowda when police tried to arrest him in Shampura on Saturday. Bharathinagar inspector Anand Naik shot him in the right leg in order to capture him.