Kids lead police to kidnappers, 7-yr-old rescued after 24 hours
Vital clues provided by children, in the age group of six to seven years, helped police rescue a seven-year-old boy who was kidnapped from outside his Delhi home by three youths on Saturday evening.
The children, who were playing with the victim at the time of his abduction, remembered exactly what the suspects told him while luring him away. That gave a direction to police’s investigation that also helped nab the three suspects including one juvenile.
Police alleged the crime was masterminded by Mohammad Kapil, a 20-year-old youth who was allegedly forced to severe his relationship with the boy’s aunt a few months ago.
“Kapil’s motive for committing the crime was not money. He wanted revenge against the boy’s family for forcing the woman to cut off all relations with him,” said Vijayanta Arya, additional DCP (North-West).
But Kapil lured his two friends, including a minor boy, by tempting them with a ransom of Rs 5 lakh if the kidnapping was pulled off successfully.
The boy lived with his mother, aunt and other family members in Subhash Place area. He was playing outside his home with his friends around 7 pm on Saturday when two youths arrived on a white scooter and took the boy away with them without any resistance.
When the boy did not return home, the family approached the police. A ransom call the next morning confirmed fears that it was a case of kidnapping.
Initially clueless, the police approached the boy’s friends with whom he was playing. “The children said they remembered the two kidnappers telling the boy that they were taking him to his maternal uncle who was attending a party. We then focused our attention on suspects who could be known to the victim’s maternal uncle and in the same age group,” said an investigator.
The children also provided the basic description of the scooter which helped the police identify the registration number of the two-wheeler. Police questioned several suspects before zeroing down on the suspects.
The accused were nabbed by Sunday evening. Their interrogation led the police to the boy who was lodged in a rented accommodation. He had not been physically harmed by the kidnappers, said police.
Police said the three youths executed the crime after planning for almost two months.
Around a month ago, they even rented a flat in North Delhi’s Trinagar for keeping the boy during his time in captivity.