Three Pose As Girl To Kidnap Boy, Detained

New Delhi: A 17-year-old boy was kidnapped after allegedly being deceived by three boys who used a fake social media profile posing as a girl. All of them have been apprehended.
The accused lured the boy into an online conversation and arranged a meeting at Saket metro station. On reaching the spot, the boy was forcibly taken away on a scooty. A ransom of Rs 50,000 was soon demanded from his family through WhatsApp.
The Mehrauli police station received a PCR call at 5.45pm about the kidnap, and an FIR was registered under BNS Section 140 (kidnapping to murder or for ransom).
A special team analysed CCTV footage from near Saket metro station and examined details of the social media account used to befriend the boy. The account from which the ransom demand was made was found to be linked with a bank account in Andhra Pradesh.
The accused frequently changed their location, but technical surveillance led police to their hideout in Sangam Vihar. Following a chase near Karni Singh Shooting Range in Tughlaqabad, all three were apprehended and the boy was rescued, police said. Police also seized the scooty and the mobile phone used to create the fake account.
"We found that the victim was communicating with the fabricated social media profile for a few days before agreeing to meet in person. On March 12, around 1pm, he reached Saket Metro Station. While waiting, three boys suddenly appeared, forced him onto a scooty, and sped away. His family later received a ransom demand and filed a police complaint," a senior officer said.
"The main accused, who was chatting with the victim, is illiterate. He relied on Google Translate to listen to messages and used voice input or copy-paste responses to make it appear as if a girl was conversing with the boy. His motive was to pay off the remaining amount for his new scooty," additional DCP (south) Achin Garg said.
"The three accused were active on social media. One of them planned to use his scooty for delivery services, but turned to crime due to financial constraints," Garg added.