New Delhi:
He needed money for treating his ailing mother but landed in police net in Mumbai after allegedly making ransom calls to the parents of a Delhi boy who had run away from home.
Ranjit Kumar Gautam (24), a graduate, was arrested by a Delhi Police team from Mumbai's Gateway of India recently following investigations into a complaint filed by the father of the boy who received ransom calls for Rs five lakh on April 21. Interestingly, the boy, who was working in a restaurant in Mumbai, did not know that Gautam used to call his family and demand ransom. The boy's family resides in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar.
"Gautam met the boy at New Delhi Railway Station when he was going to Mumbai in search of some job as he urgently needed money for the treatment of his ailing mother suffering from cancer," O P Mishra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said.
He came to know that the boy had left his house and did not want to go back. They reached Mumbai on March 26 and Gautam told the boy not to talk to his parents as they will look for him. "Ranjan started working at a restaurant as a waiter. When Gautam found that the boy was settled and was not willing to contact his family, he hatched a plan to extort money from his family. He had the mobile number of the family and started making ransom calls," Mishra said.
However, the official said, what undid Gautam was the use of a friend's account number to get the ransom amount credited. The boy's father had received calls on April 21 that his child was under his custody in Mumbai and demanded Rs five lakh for his release.
However, the kidnapper later settled for Rs. two lakh. "The father reached Mumbai but the caller kept changing locations for delivery of ransom. When the father insisted to first let him speak to his son, the caller used to be always evasive. "Finally the caller told the father to deposit money in a bank account. Police found that this account belonged to one Rakesh Bhandari who told us that he had met one Gautam a month ago who requested to arrange a job for him," he said.
Bhandari and Gautam became friends later and on April 25, he took his account number on the pretext of that his family wanted to send him some money. "We made the father deposit Rs 10,000 in Bhandari's account. Bhandari then told Gautam that he had received Rs. 10,000. Gautam came to collect the money at Gateway of India where he was arrested," Mishra said.
Ranjit Kumar Gautam (24), a graduate, was arrested by a Delhi Police team from Mumbai's Gateway of India recently following investigations into a complaint filed by the father of the boy who received ransom calls for Rs five lakh on April 21. Interestingly, the boy, who was working in a restaurant in Mumbai, did not know that Gautam used to call his family and demand ransom. The boy's family resides in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar.
"Gautam met the boy at New Delhi Railway Station when he was going to Mumbai in search of some job as he urgently needed money for the treatment of his ailing mother suffering from cancer," O P Mishra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said.
He came to know that the boy had left his house and did not want to go back. They reached Mumbai on March 26 and Gautam told the boy not to talk to his parents as they will look for him. "Ranjan started working at a restaurant as a waiter. When Gautam found that the boy was settled and was not willing to contact his family, he hatched a plan to extort money from his family. He had the mobile number of the family and started making ransom calls," Mishra said.
However, the official said, what undid Gautam was the use of a friend's account number to get the ransom amount credited. The boy's father had received calls on April 21 that his child was under his custody in Mumbai and demanded Rs five lakh for his release.
However, the kidnapper later settled for Rs. two lakh. "The father reached Mumbai but the caller kept changing locations for delivery of ransom. When the father insisted to first let him speak to his son, the caller used to be always evasive. "Finally the caller told the father to deposit money in a bank account. Police found that this account belonged to one Rakesh Bhandari who told us that he had met one Gautam a month ago who requested to arrange a job for him," he said.
Bhandari and Gautam became friends later and on April 25, he took his account number on the pretext of that his family wanted to send him some money. "We made the father deposit Rs 10,000 in Bhandari's account. Bhandari then told Gautam that he had received Rs. 10,000. Gautam came to collect the money at Gateway of India where he was arrested," Mishra said.
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