Mumbai:
A 33-year-old unemployed man, who recently got married to a girl in Sangli, kidnapped his neighbour's 14-year-old son and demanded Rs 35 lakh as ransom, allegedly to impress his wife by gifting her jewellery and a house.
According to the police, on Saturday evening Hemant Sanghoi asked his neighbour Sajjan Bind's son Arun to accompany him for an outing for a few days. Arun readily agreed as he knew Hemant since his childhood. Hemant took the boy to Sangli where he stays with his wife.
In Borivli, when Arun's parents didn't receive any information about the boy, they lodged a missing complaint at the Kasturba Marg police station.
"The boy's parents didn't know he was with Hemant so they searched for him everywhere. When they realised that Hemant too was missing, they complained to the police," said an officer attached to the Kasturba Marg police station.
"On Monday, Hemant rang up Sajjan Bind's number and demanded Rs 35 lakh as ransom at the earliest if he wanted his son return safe and in one piece," he added.
The moment Arun's family received the ransom call, the police traced down the number of the kidnapper. "We traced the call to Sangli, so we soon informed our counterparts there. They traced Hemant and the boy. The accused had apparently kidnapped the boy to buy his wife jewellery and a house with the ransom money," said the police officer.
He added that the accused thought a kidnapping bid would gain him easy money. Hemant thought Arun's father, a plumbing contractor, is a rich man and would do anything to save his son's life.
Rajendra Dhavade, DCP, Zone 12, said that they had traced the caller within three hours of the ransom call. "We solved the case with the help of the Sangli police as soon as the kidnapper called the boy's family. Now, we are ferrying the culprit and the boy to Mumbai."