8-yr-old boy kidnapped in Ujire rescued; 6 held

An eight-year-old boy kidnapped from Ujire in Beltangady taluk was traced in a house in Koormahosahalli in Malur taluk in Kolar district. He was rescued from the clutches of his six abductors by police in a swift operation in wee hours on Saturday.

Anubhav will be reunited with his distraught parents after the police produce the accused in a Kolar court at 11 am. The police also will seek court's permission to shift the accused to Ujire for further investigation, sources told DH.

Anubhav, the youngest son of an entrepreneur, Bijoy, was kidnapped while he was playing outside his house in Ujire on Thursday evening. The police swung onto act on receiving information and had barricaded all entry and exit points to Ujire. The kidnappers who succeeded in evading arrest had initially placed a demand for 100 Bitcoins (Rs 17 crore). The ransom for ensuring the safe release of boys was later reduced to Rs 10 crore and Rs 25 lakh.

Also read — Karnataka kidnappers demand Rs 17 crore ransom in bitcoins

The four teams set up to crack the kidnapping case succeeded in tracing the boy to a house in Koormahosahalli in Malur taluk in Kolar district. At around 5 am, after ensuring that the kidnappers and inmates in the house were fast asleep, the police raided the house and rescued the boy from the clutches of his kidnappers.

The arrested included the key-accused Komal from Electronics City and Gangadhar from Mandya. Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police B M Laxmi Prasad attributed the successful cracking of kidnapping case in 36 hours to the team effort. "Throughout the operation, our attention was focussed on ensuring the safety of the boy," he told DH when contacted.

Further information about the accused will be known only after the interrogation of six accused persons, he added.