Mumbai man fakes his own kidnapping for money

A 25-year-old Malad resident pretended to be kidnapped in order to extort Rs 5 lakh from his parents. After a week of investigations, the police found the youth injured at Khopoli railway station and admitted him to a hospital.

The young man, identified as Krishna Gokhle, works as an electrician in Laxmi Industrial Estate, Andheri West, while his parents work in private firms.

The plan
According to police officials, Gokhle charted out the plan on August 1. On the same day, while leaving work, he called his mother and told her that he is being followed by around 10 people and that they are trying to attack him. After the call, Gokhle switched off his cell phone and remained untraceable. His mother approached the police and registered a kidnapping and missing case at Samta Nagar police station on the same day.

The next day, Gokhle disguised his voice and called his mother from a telephone booth demanding R5 lakh as ransom to ‘release her child'. A Unit 12 crime branch team and the police, who were waiting for the call, traced the number of the booth which was located at VP road in Gamdevi area.

The end
On August 7, Gokhle's mother received a call from another PCO near Khopoli railway station. The caller informed her that they had to kill her son as she didn't deliver the money and that his body is at the Khopoli railway station. The police and crime branch team reached the railway station only to find an injured Gokhle. They admitted him to a nearby hospital and later released him. During interrogation, Gokhle revealed that he wanted to live in comfort which is why he concocted the plan. Explaining his injuries, he said that on August 6, while consuming alcohol with his friends, a fight broke out and a friend smashed a beer bottle on his head.