‘Kidnapped’ boy demands Rs 50 lakh ransom from father to live with girlfriend

He plotted his kidnapping with the help of his childhood friend.

To help his girlfriend, a 16-year-old boy from Gujarat staged his kidnapping and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh from his father, said the Mumbai police.

The boy is from Gujarat and has been staying in Mumbai with his grandfather. (FOR REPRESENTATION)

He has been living at his maternal grandfather’s house in Sakinaka for one-and-a-half months. The police said he wanted to help his girlfriend and her family at Talasari in Palghar. He planned to live with her after getting the ransom money. The boy recently completed his Class 12 (commerce) . His father is a government employee in Gujarat.

On Friday, the teenager went missing from his uncle’s Sakinaka residence at 12.15 pm. Four hours later, his father received a call from a person who claimed to have kidnapped his son.

“The kidnapper demanded Rs 50 lakh from the father and told him to deliver the money at Manor in Palghar. The caller also threatened to kill the boy if the family approached the police,” said a crime branch officer.

The boy’s maternal uncle approached the Sakinaka police immediately and registered a case of kidnapping. While the police were investigating the case, 10 sleuths from the crime branch unit also started probing it.

The police traced the call and found that it was from a lodge called ‘Laxmi Residency’ in Manor, said officials. The crime branch team reached the spot and found the teenager with his 19-year-old childhood friend, who allegedly called the family. The duo spilled the beans on their kidnapping bid and confessed to have staged it, said officials.