Man kidnaps boy in Delhi for ₹1.10 crore ransom, gets caught within few hours

On Tuesday, around 4pm, Monu told his employer he was taking her son for a walk. When the duo did not return after an hour, she called on Monu’s phone but it was switched off

Shahdara police on Tuesday arrested a man for kidnapping a seven-year-old boy within three hours of receiving the complaint.

Monu and the child were spotted near Gokulpuri Metro station around 8.30pm. In a swiftly carried out raid, he was apprehended and the child was rescued safely, police said. (REUTERS File)

DCP, Shahdara, R Sathiyasundaram said that around 7.30pm on Tuesday, the police received a call regarding the kidnapping of a seven-year-old boy child from Subhash Mohalla in the Gandhi Nagar area. The caller (the child’s mother) said that the kidnapper was demanding ₹1.10 crore as ransom.

She said that her family employed one Monu to take care of their son about a month ago. He worked with them for about nine days and left. About six days ago, the family asked him to work for them again at a higher salary as the child had grown attached to him and was upset when he left.

On Tuesday, around 4pm, Monu told her he was taking her son for a walk. When the duo did not return after an hour, she called on Monu’s phone but it was switched off.

After a few minutes, Monu called her back and demanded ₹1.10 crore as ransom.

She called the police, who registered a case under Section 364 (A) (punishment for kidnapping or abduction for ransom) of the Indian Penal Code and began an investigation.

“The complainant was not able to provide a proper address for Monu and since he was on the move, the task of tracing and tracking him became more challenging. Teams were dispatched to railway stations, nearby Metro stations, ISBTs, checkposts, as well as suspected hideouts. The team also covered various parks, isolated/abandoned buildings and parking lots. In the meantime, the family negotiated with him to bring down the ransom amount. They said they could pay only ₹10 lakh. However, Monu refused to listen to them and instead instructed the parents to arrange ₹1 crore within one hour and switched off the mobile phone after that,” said the DCP.

Soon, Monu and the child were spotted near Gokulpuri Metro station around 8.30pm. In a swiftly carried out raid, he was apprehended and the child was rescued safely, police said.

During interrogation, Monu said his acquaintance, one Ruby, recommended he work with the family.

He said he thought that the father of the child had a lot of money. He also said he was planning to buy a flat with the ransom money in Mumbai.