The accused was arrested from Delhi's Uttam Nagar area, the police said (Representational)
A man allegedly kidnapped his landlord's seven-month-old son and demanded Rs 40 lakh as ransom so that he could collect enough money to move in with his girlfriend, Delhi Police said on Saturday.
The accused, identified as Priyanshu Kumar (24), has been arrested, they said, adding, the infant was later rescued and reunited with his parents.
According to the police, Priyanshu Kumar went to his landlord's house on Friday and told them that he wanted to play with the child. Since the child was sleeping, his mother asked Kumar to come later, but he insisted on staying back.
When the child's mother went out of the room to collect his clothes, the accused left the house with the baby. She immediately informed her husband about the incident.
"The child's father later got a call from Kumar, asking him to pay Rs 40 lakh if he wanted his child back," a senior police officer said.
A case was registered and multiple teams were formed to trace the accused, said Parvinder Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
"During the investigation, the police tracked the escape route of the accused from the house and found that he had taken the child towards Uttam Nagar terminal on foot, covering a distance of about four kilometres. From there, he booked a cab using an app-based service and recahed in Ghaziabad," he said.
The police team decided to keep the accused engaged by luring him with token ransom amounts and keeping him involved through chats and calls, the DCP said.
"The team finally planned to intercept the accused. After more than four hours of chase, the team was able to intercept the car and the kidnapped child was rescued. The accused, however, managed to run away, leaving the taxi behind," Mr Singh said.
The accused was later arrested from Delhi's Uttam Nagar area.
"During the interrogation, the accused said that he was in a relationship with a girl from Kanpur and needed money to fulfill her demands. He wanted money to settle down with her. Since he did not have a job, he thought of kidnapping the infant," the officer added.