<p>An autorickshaw driver ganged up with a woman friend to try to kidnap his former employer’s school-going son. </p>.<p>Even though the kidnappers chickened out and fled after the boy raised an alarm, they had the gall to call up his mother and demand Rs 5 lakh to not abduct him in the future. Police eventually nabbed them by laying a trap. </p>.<p>The dramatic events unfolded at Kithaganur near KR Puram in eastern Bengaluru on Thursday and Friday, according to police. </p>.<p>Shakthivelu, 20, an auto driver from Kempanna Layout near KR Puram, and Suneetha, 30, an apparel store salesgirl from Maragondanahalli, tried to kidnap Sai Akshith, the six-year-old son of Manoj Kumar, a resident of Kithaganur. </p>.<p>Akshith studies UKG at a private school. His elder brother also studies in the same school. Akshith goes to school by van. </p>.<p>Around 1 pm on Thursday, as Akshith was returning home, Shakthivelu and Suneetha travelled by car and intercepted the van at Happy Garden in Kithaganur. Suneetha got down and walked up to the van driver, Basha. Saying that her daughter studies in the same school, she requested him to pick up and drop her off. She then sought to show Basha where her house is located. He agreed. </p>.<p>After going some distance, Bash returned to the van and told Suneetha her house is far away and said he would come after dropping Akshith home. </p>.<p>Even as Basha sat Akshith up in the van and got into the driver’s seat, Suneetha tried to take the boy away. Shakthivelu pounced on Basha. </p>.<p>Basha and the boy started screaming for help, scaring off the kidnappers. Basha dropped off Akshith around 1.30 pm and told his mother what had happened. </p>.<p>Sometime later, Akshith’s mother received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller told her they were the ones who tried to kidnap Akshith and would try again. The caller asked her to pay Rs 5 lakh for dropping the plan. He also gave death threats. </p>.<p>The boy’s father went to the Avalahalli police. On police’s instructions, he asked Shakthivelu and Suneetha to come near Katamnallur Gate at 4 am the next day and collect the money. The suspects came by scooter and walked into the trap. </p>.<p>According to police, Shakthivelu had worked for Kumar for a week, picking up and dropping off his elder son from school. He had taken the phone number of Kumar’s wife at the time. </p>.<p>Shakthivelu later started driving an auto but got into bad company. He had affairs with several women. But his earnings were too low to meet his expenses. So he ganged up with Suneetha to plot the kidnap in a rented car. </p>
<p>An autorickshaw driver ganged up with a woman friend to try to kidnap his former employer’s school-going son. </p>.<p>Even though the kidnappers chickened out and fled after the boy raised an alarm, they had the gall to call up his mother and demand Rs 5 lakh to not abduct him in the future. Police eventually nabbed them by laying a trap. </p>.<p>The dramatic events unfolded at Kithaganur near KR Puram in eastern Bengaluru on Thursday and Friday, according to police. </p>.<p>Shakthivelu, 20, an auto driver from Kempanna Layout near KR Puram, and Suneetha, 30, an apparel store salesgirl from Maragondanahalli, tried to kidnap Sai Akshith, the six-year-old son of Manoj Kumar, a resident of Kithaganur. </p>.<p>Akshith studies UKG at a private school. His elder brother also studies in the same school. Akshith goes to school by van. </p>.<p>Around 1 pm on Thursday, as Akshith was returning home, Shakthivelu and Suneetha travelled by car and intercepted the van at Happy Garden in Kithaganur. Suneetha got down and walked up to the van driver, Basha. Saying that her daughter studies in the same school, she requested him to pick up and drop her off. She then sought to show Basha where her house is located. He agreed. </p>.<p>After going some distance, Bash returned to the van and told Suneetha her house is far away and said he would come after dropping Akshith home. </p>.<p>Even as Basha sat Akshith up in the van and got into the driver’s seat, Suneetha tried to take the boy away. Shakthivelu pounced on Basha. </p>.<p>Basha and the boy started screaming for help, scaring off the kidnappers. Basha dropped off Akshith around 1.30 pm and told his mother what had happened. </p>.<p>Sometime later, Akshith’s mother received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller told her they were the ones who tried to kidnap Akshith and would try again. The caller asked her to pay Rs 5 lakh for dropping the plan. He also gave death threats. </p>.<p>The boy’s father went to the Avalahalli police. On police’s instructions, he asked Shakthivelu and Suneetha to come near Katamnallur Gate at 4 am the next day and collect the money. The suspects came by scooter and walked into the trap. </p>.<p>According to police, Shakthivelu had worked for Kumar for a week, picking up and dropping off his elder son from school. He had taken the phone number of Kumar’s wife at the time. </p>.<p>Shakthivelu later started driving an auto but got into bad company. He had affairs with several women. But his earnings were too low to meet his expenses. So he ganged up with Suneetha to plot the kidnap in a rented car. </p>
