MUMBAI: A 37-year-old school bus owner-driver was arrested for trying to extort money from several parents by sending them threatening messages claiming he would kidnap their children if they didn’t pay up. The police said that the accused, who also ran a mobile shop in Kashimira, had used a customer’s SIM card to send the messages.
According to the Kashmira police in Mira Road, several people whose children studied at the St Jerome Convent High school, Mira Road East, had received messages from an unknown number demanding ₹4 lakh worth extortion money in exchange for their children’s safety. The threatening messages began a week ago, but most parents ignored them, the police added.
One such parent of a 14-year-old, approached the police on October 24, after he had continuously received threats that his son would be abducted if he didn’t pay the money. When the parent asked around, he found that many other parents had received similar messages. Police sub-inspector Rajesh Kini investigated the matter and found that the accused had even sent a picture of the complainant’s son to him, demanding the money.
“During investigation, we learned that the parents had sent a photo of their children to the school bus driver (for the bus records). We then identified the school bus driver, Sadanand Baburao Patri, 37, a resident of Kashmira,” said Kini. When questioned, Patri confessed to the crime and told the police that he owned a small mobile shop. He added that to send the threats he had used the SIM card of a customer who had dropped his phone off for repair.
{{/usCountry}}“During investigation, we learned that the parents had sent a photo of their children to the school bus driver (for the bus records). We then identified the school bus driver, Sadanand Baburao Patri, 37, a resident of Kashmira,” said Kini. When questioned, Patri confessed to the crime and told the police that he owned a small mobile shop. He added that to send the threats he had used the SIM card of a customer who had dropped his phone off for repair.
{{/usCountry}}The police said that so far four parents whose children take the bus driven by Patri, have approached them with similar complaints, stating that they too received such threatening messages demanding money. The police are looking into the arrested accused’s phone for further details.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.