Mumbai: Duo kidnaps boy under pretext of wedding invitation; held

The 13-year-old was abducted in Rajasthan and brought to Mumbai after he was tricked into giving directions to his dad's showroom; a joint operation led to his rescue

Sajid Baig came in touch with the other accused during his many trips to Rajasthan

They entered the businessman's home in Fatehpur, Rajasthan under the pretext of inviting the family to a wedding. Instead, they duped the mother and kidnapped their 13-year-old boy, hoping to extract a handsome random of Rs 70 lakh.

But that plan was brought to a screeching halt by the Bandra police Crime Branch and Rajasthan police's joint operation when they arrested a 35-year-old man Sajid Baig from Bandra west, who had brought the boy to the city, after taking him to Pune and Lonavla first.

Also read - Mumbai: 3-year-old kidnapped outside home in Ghatkopar, mother detained

The wedding ruse
According to the police, Baig regularly frequented Rajasthan where he befriended a still unidentified man and plotted the kidnapping with him. On May 14, knowing that the patriarch of the family had already left for his jewellery showroom, they dropped in and claimed that they wanted to see him. On being told that he was already at work, they then asked if they could be directed to the showroom and as soon as the child sat in their car, took off with him. A police official said, "The duo first took him to Pune, then Lonavla, and finally bringing him to a house in Bandra. Additionally, to ensure that they were not stopped, they changed their number plate at least five times during the entire journey."

Also read - Mumbai: Cops nab abductor as victim calls home after two years

Meanwhile, when the child never returned home, the parents reached out to the Shekhwat police station in Fathepur, and lodged an FIR against unknown accused. Later, they also started receiving calls for ransom
of Rs 70 lakh from unknown numbers.

Tip-off foils plan
However, while tapping the unknown numbers yielded no results, it was a tip-off to the Mumbai crime branch unit 9 about a boy being kept captive in a house that ultimately brought the duo to justice. Officials kept a close watch on the house and late on Sunday evening, the Rajasthan police contacted the Mumbai police seeking their assistance in arresting the accused and rescuing the kidnapped child.

Also read - Mumbai: 12-day-old boy abducted in absence of parents

"Inspector Mahesh Desai and API Nitin Patil of unit 9, along with officials from Bandra police, crime branch and Rajisthan police conducted a joint operation to rescue the child. The arrested accused were handed over to the Rajasthan police."

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