Police arrest three teenagers for kidnapping 11-year-old for ransom

THE KIDNAPPERS — ALL FROM OUTSIDE RANCHI — LIVED IN A RENTED ROOM AND HATCHED A PLAN TO KIDNAP A RICH KID AFTER THEIR STOCKS RAN LOW

RANCHI: Police have arrested three teenagers for kidnapping an 11-year-old student of DAV public school in the Jharkhand capital on July 19 for ransom, whom they had freed within 24 hours out of fear.

The kidnappers — all three from outside Ranchi — lived in a rented room and hatched a plan to kidnap a rich kid after their stocks ran low, leaving them with little money to pay for their food, accommodation and education, police said.

Initially, two teenagers targeted Arsalan Ali, a class 7 student who was a regular at a cricket coaching centre in Ranchi, thinking he might be from a rich family and his parents could pay a hefty ransom.

A runaway teen joined them later when he came to Ranchi after having a fight with his parents in Dhanbad.

They kept a close watch on the boy and, in the meantime, bought six cell phone SIM cards and a second-hand scooter to execute their plan.

Deputy superintendent of police Bahman Tuti said one of them approached Arsalan on July 19 and befriended him, saying he resembled his cousin. He took the boy to his Lake road lodge on the pretext of introducing him to the cousin.

“The boy fell into the trap and he was held hostage, with his limbs tied and mouth gagged,” the officer said.

Then they rang up the boy’s parents and demanded `20 lakh. Finally, after negotiations, a deal was struck at `7 lakh for the boy’s release. They asked the boy’s father, Naiyer Javed, to go to Hatia railway station and hand over the money to a person wearing a red and white shirt.

Javed did accordingly, but could not find the said person at Hatia and returned.

The kidnappers then called up Arsalan’s mother, who wept and pleaded for her son’s release.

Police said the juveniles could not hold their nerves any longer and released the boy on July 20.

Based on technical surveillance, police caught two of them when they were on their way to Dhanbad on Saturday. The third was arrested from Sheikhpura the same evening.

Police said all three belong to lower-middle-class families: one is a labourer’s son; another that of a cloth trader; and the third’s father is a contractor. The cloth trader’s son is said to have masterminded the kidnap.

“They had come to Ranchi for their higher secondary, but have not been able to get admission in any school. They had rented a room in a lodge in Ranchi’s Lake Road and were running out of money,” DSP Tuti said.

The teens had overspent the money they received from their parents for their accommodation and studies. “They were also tempted by the thought of getting rich quickly,” the officer said.