Investigations into the sensational kidnapping of five-year-old Vihaan has revealed that Nitin Sharma, the mastermind of the kidnapping of the boy from a school van in East Delhi, was identified after a Delhi Police constable posted in the Northeast police district identified his picture in WhatsApp profile.
A senior police investigator, privy to the investigation, told The Pioneer, “Nitin was traced through the call dump data. Since his phone was switched on at night, his location was traced. Moreover, Nitin was identified after he was visible in the WhatApp call made by him to Vihaan’s parents. His photo was shown to beat constables of Trans Yamuan districts and a constable posted at Gokulpuri police station identified as Nitin Sharma. Police came to know that Nitin was missing from his house since kidnapping incident.
Crime Branch teams scanned Nitin’s friends and received a tip-off that he would come to attend a wedding ceremony.
It was there that the cops, dressed in civil clothes went and managed to surround Nitin. From there, Nitin was whisked out of the wedding venue and taken for interrogation.” Nitin took them to the flat where Vihaan was kept.
The officer shared that they were skeptical of the behaviour of the gun totting kidnappers. To make sure that the kidnappers do not harm the child, ten policemen of the Crime Branch had spread blankets outside the balcony of the Shalimar Garden Apartments where Vihaan was held. “The team came prepared to save the child and so carried blankets, some cushions,” said the senior police officer.
The officer also said that in one of the three attempts made by the kidnappers to abduct Vihaan, on January 24, a day before they finally kidnapped the boy, Crime Branch got hold of a video which shows the two kidnappers wearing helmets and standing in front of the school van. The video is in possession of The Pioneer.
However, before they could do anything, Vihaan's mother came and took him from the van, leaving them confused, the official added.
They however, succeeded in their next attempt but ran out of luck after Crime Branch sleuths got Nitin and his two accomplices Ravi and Pankaj. Ravi was killed in the ensuing encounter while Pankaj was injured.