5-year-old boy kidnapped by debt-hit juice vendor rescued

MUMBAI: A five-year-old boy was rescued within hours of being kidnapped on Thursday.
The boy, the son of a supervisor employed in a garment factory, was kidnapped around 11 am. Sakinaka police received information around 2pm and the boy was rescued by 6pm.

A single call made by the main accused Akram Khan, 21, and his girlfriend to the boy's father Shakir Shaikh (38) to demand Rs 1 lakh ransom helped Sakinaka police crack the case. While Khan has been arrested, his girlfriend was summoned to the police station.

"Khan, who runs a juice cart outside the victim's house, had plotted the offence a few days ago. He was hoping to clear his debts with the ransom money. Interestingly, Khan accompanied the boy's father to comb the area after he went missing," deputy commissioner of police (Zone X) Navinchandra Reddy told TOI.

Police said Khan was a frequent visitor to the boy's house. On Thursday, he turned up at their place and asked for a cup of tea. "His girlfriend was waiting outside and walked away with the boy. She kept the boy at her friend's hutment. The boy's mother panicked when she realized he was missing," a police official said. Khan then made a ransom call to the boy's father and threatened to kill him if his demand was not met.

Based on the information, DCP Reddy supervised a team led by ACP Milind Khetle and comprising Sakinaka police senior inspector Kishore Sawant, inspector Sunil Mane and assistant inspector Abdul Rauf.

During interrogation, Khan confessed to kidnapping the boy to clear his loan.