Woman held for grandson's kidnap

An elderly woman, who was at loggerheads with her son-in-law, allegedly helped a car driver to kidnap her own grandson on Wed­nesday in Mahadevapura.

According to police, the crime was a result of the long-simmering tensions between Gayathri and Shankar, who is employed as a teacher at a government school in Anekal.

Police said Gayathri’s daughter Supriya had married Shankar three years ago and the couple had a one-year-old son Hanish. As Shankar lived in Anekal, Supriya and her son lived with Gayathri. Tensions escalated, however, when Shankar asked Supriya and Hanish to live with him.

Gayathri, who was against the idea, hatched a plan with Ananth Kumar, a cab driver, to abduct Hanish.

The kidnapping occurred on Wednesday when Gayathri took her daughter and grandson to a wedding in Mahadevapura. After attending the wedding, she asked them to accompany her to Total Mall located nearby.

When they left the mall sometime later, Supriya crossed the road to board the bus, believing that her mother and child were behind her. Gayathri, however, left the child to the care of Kumar who was waiting in a Maruti van. When Supriya demanded to know what had happened, Gayathri allegedly told her that someone had abducted the boy and pretended to faint. 

Supriya rushed her mother to a hospital and informed Shankar of the abduction. Shankar and Supriya later filed a complaint about their missing son at the Mahadevapura police station.

A police investigation of the CCTV footage at the mall revealed Gayathri’s suspicious movements. The Maruti van, which was also identified in the CCTV footage, was tracked to Kumar’s house in Whitefield. 

Police rescued Hanish from Kumar’s home and reunited him with his parents on Thursday. Kumar, who was arrested, subsequently revealed Gayathri’s hand in the kidnapping.

When officers questioned Gayathri about the motive for the kidnapping, she allegedly told them that she did not want her daughter and grandson to live with Shankar. “She also wanted Supriya to divorce her husband but believed that the son was an obstacle,” an investigating officer said.

“She wanted to get rid of Hanish by sending him away, so that she could marry off Supriya to someone else.” Gayathri and Kumar have been remanded in judicial custody.