2-year-old boy rescued from kidnapper in city

PUNE: The massive search launched by Pune city police officials and local residents forced a kidnapper to release a two-year-old boy, who was kidnapped for Rs 10 lakh ransom on Saturday night. The boy was released at around 6.30 am on Sunday in a field at Wadachiwadi near Undri. 

Interior designer Somnath Dhanwade (30), the father of the child Pushkraj, lodged an FIR with Kondhwa police station at around 8.30 pm stating that his son was missing, while he was playing outside their house near the Grampanchayat office in Wadachiwadi. As the boy is a minor, a kidnapping case was registered.

Officials said that the boy had gone missing at around 7.30 pm. The family members had searched for him in the area and failed to locate him following which they approached the police. They had also shared his photo and details extensively on WhatsApp and social media. 

DCP (Crime) Shirish Sardeshpande told Sakal Times, “After getting information, officials from Crime Branch and Kondhwa police station had reached the area at around 9 pm. We got tremendous support from local residents, who along with the police began searching for the boy in the area. Around 1.30 am on Sunday, the family got a ransom call and we got to know that the kidnapper was in the area. It was still dark, around 5.30 am, when our team got close to the kidnapper. However, he got wind of it and began fleeing with the child. There were open plots with fencing, which could not be seen in the dark. As the people and police approached, the man left the child and fled. Our teams are searching for the accused.”

Police officials said that the kidnapper had asked the ransom money to be delivered at Nashik bus stand.