Man stages his own kidnapping to fund gaming habit; arrested

The accused has been identified as Manish Kumar Dwivedi, who works as a security guard at an under-construction site in Baner.

PUNE: Pune city police have arrested a man for allegedly staging his own kidnapping and demanding a ransom of ₹2 lakh from his family only to fund his online gaming habit.

Man stages his own kidnapping to fund gaming habit; arrested

The accused has been identified as Manish Kumar Dwivedi, who works as a security guard at an under-construction site in Baner. The complaint was registered at Baner police station on February 11, 2026. The complainant, a resident of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, stated that his brother, Manish Kumar Dwivedi, had gone missing. As per the complaint, Manish was expected to return to his native place on February 9, 2026 and had informed his family over the phone that he was returning home. However, later that night, his phone became unreachable.

On February 10, 2026, Manish’s father (and brother) received a threatening WhatsApp message from Manish’s mobile number that read: “If you want to see your son alive, you have six hours. Arrange ₹2 lakh. If you inform the police, he will be killed. If the money is not arranged within six hours, we will kill him.” Fearing for Manish’s life, the family travelled to Pune and lodged a complaint at the Baner police station. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and launched an investigation.

Senior police inspector Chandrashekhar Sawant formed a special investigation team under the guidance of senior officers. The team began collecting technical evidence and tracking the mobile location linked to the alleged kidnapping. Sawant said, “During preliminary investigation, the police found that Manish had been moving around freely in the city. CCTV footage and technical data showed that he was travelling alone in an autorickshaw and had visited a friend at a housing society in Mahalunge on February 9, 10 and 12. He had spent several hours there without showing any signs of distress.” Officials grew suspicious as Manish’s movements did not match those of a kidnapped person. His behaviour and call records indicated that he was not under threat. Further investigation revealed that Manish had travelled to Ahmedabad in Gujarat and later to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. A police team was immediately sent to Prayagraj to trace him. The team located him with the help of local contacts and relatives. He was persuaded to return to Pune for questioning.

Chilumula Rajnikanth, deputy commissioner of police (zone 4), said, “On February 23, 2026, Manish appeared before the police in Pune. During interrogation, he confessed that he had staged the kidnapping. He admitted that he had sent the threatening WhatsApp message from his own phone to create fear among his family members.” The police said that he had planned the fake kidnapping because he needed the money to play online games. He was reportedly addicted to online gaming and needed the money to sustain his habit. To arrange the money quickly, he decided to threaten his family by pretending that he had been kidnapped. The police also confirmed that he had already received ₹10,000 online from his family as advance before his plan was exposed.

Following his confession, Manish Kumar Dwivedi was arrested on charges of extortion and providing false information. The ₹10,000 he received has been returned to his family. Police officials said that such acts not only cause severe emotional distress to family members but also lead to unnecessary panic and misuse of police resources. Further investigation in the case is being carried out by assistant police inspector K B Daberav.