New Delhi:
A 24-year-old man, on his way to Mumbai, met a juvenile who had run away from home. He convinced the boy to keep his whereabouts secret and without his knowledge started making ransom calls to his parents. The man was arrested, police said Thursday.
Ranjit Kumar Gautam, 24, was on his way to Mumbai to find a job as he needed money to treat his ailing mother. He met the juvenile and soon learnt that he had run away from home, said the police.
"The duo reached Mumbai on March 26 and the accused asked the boy not to talk to his parents or they would start searching for him. The boy agreed and started working as a waiter in a restaurant," said a police official.
Soon, Gautam made a ransom call to the boy's father in Delhi without his knowledge, and faking his kidnapping demanded Rs.5 lakh, but later settled for Rs.2 lakh, said the police.
"Gautam asked the money to be deposited in the account of one of his acquaintance, Rakesh Bhandari, who was friends with the accused as he was helping him find a job," the police official added.
Gautam had obtained Bhandari's account number on the pretext that his family would be transferring money, added the police.
"We asked the father to deposit Rs.10,000 in Bhandari's account and when Gautam came to collect the money at the Gateway of India, he was arrested by a Delhi Police team," added the official.