Families of kidnapped boys receive packet with fingers

Agra: Asha Garg has not seen her 21-year-old son, Gaurav, in over a month. He was kidnapped along with his cousin, Rajat, while running an errand in Agra.  

Late in October, the phone in Asha's house rang. By this time, the family was used to getting ransom calls from the men holding their boys hostage. The demand: rupees one-crore.

But in this call, the man at the other end asked the family to visit a nearby graveyard, where, he said, a packet was waiting for them.

The fathers of the two missing boys rushed to the graveyard, and found the packet waiting for them at the promised location. It had two fingers inside.

The alleged kidnappers told the families this is proof that they are willing to hurt the boys if the family doesn't pay up. Some relief for the families: a preliminary examination by the Chief Medical Officer of Agra suggests that the severed fingers do not belong to the missing boys.

The police believes the kidnappers are two dacoits from nearby Chambal. The families of the kidnapped boys own a shop that sells utensils- business picks up during the Diwali season. The police believes that explains the timing of the kidnapping.