Boy kidnapped near Mumbai, rescued in 75-hour operation by 100 cops

THANE: In a plot with a trail and red herrings straight out of a potboiler, a Dombivli businessman’s 12-year-old son, abducted from near his home Wednesday for Rs 1. 5 crore ransom, was rescued in an operation lasting over 75 hours by over 100 cops who even scanned dense jungles overnight.
The kidnapper, a history sheeter from Gujarat living in Dombivli, had leased flats in Palghar and Surat for the crime. Helped by his wife, paramour and brother-in-law, he drove around various places, used fake number plates, avoided main roads and took the boy to Surat from where he was arrested and the boy rescued on Saturday.
Police said that it was “jealousy over prosperity” of the boy’s family that led to the kidnapping. The boy was rescued from a flat in Surat.
The main accused, F F Rafai (26), has offences like double murder and illegal liquor trade registered in his name in Gujarat, the police said. The other accused include his wife, paramour, his brother-in-law and his wife.
The police said that Rafai, who owns and drives a tourist cab, had rented two flats – one in Palghar and another in Surat to be used in the crime.

Police inspector Sunil Tarmale said Rafai initially kept the boy with the female relatives. As they drove around, he avoided using main roads to avoid being spotted and used fake number plates.
The police said they used technical data to track the caller’s location to Titwala and identified the white sedan used in the crime.
On Thursday, Rafai and his relative drove to Nashik and made another call to the boy’s family to mislead the police, said Tarmale. As expected, the police spotted the car near Jawhar. This team cornered them at a spot, but they veered off the main Jawahar road and abandoned the car there.
The police identified the accused based on the Fasttag and chassis number of theabandoned car. “We found the boy’s footwear, books and deadly weapons in the car. On Friday, Rafai was spotted near Palghar,” said the official.
The accused hired a mini truck to reach Gujarat and reached his Surat home late on Friday. “Along the way, the women disembarked from the vehicle at checkposts with the boy and walked along alternative paths and got into the vehicle that would be waiting for them ahead,” said an officer.
The police said they also got information about Rafai’s new house in Surat. We alerted the local police on Saturday morning and barged into the flat and rescued the boy and nabbed the accused,” said a police official.
Around 20 teams were formed by additional commissioner Dattatrey Shinde. The police took help from counterparts in other places, said senior inspector S Bagade.