Ghaziabad police arrest two friends for fake kidnapping, demanding extortion from family

According to police, Shivam’s brother Shubham filed a missing complaint of his brother on July 31, saying that he had not returned home since July 30

Police on Saturday arrested a 20-year-old man, Shivam Vishwakarma, for staging his own kidnapping to extort money from his family, police said. They added that his 22-year-old friend, Roshan Kumar, who helped him in his plan was also nabbed.

Both individuals were apprehended at a factory owned by Roshan in Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area. (Representative Image)

Both individuals were apprehended at a factory owned by Roshan in Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area.

According to police, Shivam’s brother Shubham filed a missing complaint of his brother on July 31, saying that he had not returned home since July 30 and an individual using Shivam’s phone had demanded ₹54,800 via chat messages.

Based on his complaint, the Loni Border police then registered an FIR under IPC section 384 (demanding extortion), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

The police said that Shivam also sent videos of himself to his family with his hands and legs tied up. The cops said that he and his friend Roshan prepared these videos to convince his family that he was indeed kidnapped.

Vivek Chandra Yadav, DCP (rural), said, “After seeing these videos, Shubham had transferred ₹20000 to his brother’s online account and the two friends later started demanding more money. In between, our teams, with electronic surveillance, zeroed into the factory and busted the plot”.

“Shivam was addicted local drugs and needed money. Influenced by crime-based TV shows, he hatched the kidnapping plot,” the DCP added.

The Loni Border police officials said that they booked the two suspects under IPC section 386 (for committing extortion by putting any person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 420 (cheating), 120b (criminal conspiracy) and 506 (criminal intimidation).