The Hindu

BANGALORE, Feb 16: The North Division police on Thursday rescued five-year-old Chandan, son of a factory employee, who was kidnapped from near his house in Yeshwanthpur police station limits on Monday.

The police have arrested Sanjay (25) of Kolkata, the alleged kidnapper, who had burnt Chandan’s palms with cigarette butts. Sanjay, a painter and a tenant of Chandan’s father, Siddoji Rao, had demanded a ransom of Rs. 25,000 to release the boy, the police said.

Mr. Siddoji Rao, a resident of Muthyalanagar in Mathikere, lodged a complaint with the Yeshwanthpur police on Tuesday that his son was missing since Monday evening. On Wednesday, Sanjay called Mr. Siddoji Rao’s younger brother Bheema Rao on his mobile phone and informed him that Chandan was in his custody and demanded a ransom of Rs. 25,000. He warned Mr. Bheema Rao that he would kill the boy if the police were informed.

As Sanjay continued to make ransom calls, Mr. Siddoji Rao, a welder at a private factory in Abbigere, tried hard to arrange for the money.

When he could not, he approached Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Syed Ulfath Hussein on Thursday afternoon.

The police swung into action and found that Sanjay was making calls from a public call office (PCO) in New Thippasandra. Even as the police team was at New Thippasandra, around 8 p.m. Mr. Bheema Rao received a couple of calls from Sanjay.

The calls were traced to PCOs in Kasturinagar and Channasandra, off NGEF on Old Madras Road, the police said.

Around 9 p.m. Sanjay called Mr. Siddoji Rao on his mobile phone and told him that it was the final warning and he would kill Chandan if he failed to pay the ransom immediately.

The police traced the number to a PCO in Channasandra and rushed there. On noticing the police, Sanjay started running.

The police chased him for nearly two km and arrested him.

On the information given by him, the police traced Chandan at a labourer’s house near a construction site in Ambedkar Colony in New Thippasandra.