Quick action by police, locals helped catch accused

It was perfect coordination between a police officer on patrol, locals at the spot, the control room, the joint commissioner of police (law and order), all zonal deputy commissioners and senior inspectors of all police stations that led to the kidnapping bid being foiled within two hours.

It was perfect coordination between a police officer on patrol, locals at the spot, the control room, the joint commissioner of police (law and order), all zonal deputy commissioners and senior inspectors of all police stations that led to the kidnapping bid being foiled within two hours.

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The househelp, to deflect police attention from her role, had informed a policeman patrolling the area that the boy had been kidnapped. The inspector informed the controls.

Also, as soon as the boy was put into a Xylo, three alert boys, Sadnesh Patel, Rishi Bhatt and Sooraj Tupsawande (18 to 20 years), started chasing the Xylo on their bikes. While they lost the car, they noted down its number and informed the police. A mobile phone found at the spot was handed over to the Vile Parle police.

“Joint commissioner of police (law and order), Sadanand Date instructed every DCP and senior inspector to get out on to the roads and start nakabandis,” said Vishwas Nangre-Patil, additional commissioner of police (west).

The accused had, meanwhile, demanded a ransom of Rs1 crore from the boy’s family and eventually settled for Rs 70 lakh. When the househelp called her accomplices and told them the police were tracing them, they transferred the boy to an Indigo.

The Xylo was intercepted on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and two of the accused were arrested by senior inspector Bhimrao Jadhav and inspector Jitendra Kamble. Three other accused abandoned the Indigo at Goregaon but were traced to Malad through their mobile phones and caught by inspector S Varal, assistant police inspectors Pradeep Khanvilkar and Milind Desai of Vile Parle police.