West Bengal: Out-of-work techie makes ransom call to father

KOLKATA: A 27-year-old IT executive from Nimta in north Dum Dum, who lost his job at an IT firm at Sector V during the lockdown, reportedly faked his own abduction and placed a ransom call to his father, trying to extort Rs 2 lakh. He was arrested from a New Town hotel on Saturday.
When the accused had placed the ransom call, he had apparently spoken in a different voice but his father suspected something amiss and approached the police. His father had recently retired from the Food Corporation of India. “He left home on Wednesday, claiming he was going to bank as he was duped of Rs 50,000. He didn’t return home till late at night after which his father lodged a missing diary at the Nimta PS,” a relative said.
“Hours later, his father got a call from his son’s phone. The caller told him his son had been abducted and that he should pay Rs 2 lakh for his release. The next day, he received another call. But when he got a second call on Thursday, he got suspicious about the voice and filed a complaint.”
Told by cops, the elderly man negotiated with the “kidnapper” and brought down the ransom to Rs 1.5 lakh. Police tracked the mobile location to New Town “The youth said he needed money to sustain his lifestyle,” said Shibendu Ghosh, Nimta PS OC.