Footage from 300 CCTVs checked to nab man who kidnapped two kids

After his escape, over 300 CCTV footages were reviewed by the police, and the accused was identified. He was arrested on Thursday. “He had observed instances where parents briefly left their children in cars with the engine running. This prompted him to devise a plan to kidnap children along with the car, aiming to demand a significant ransom from their parents,” said DCP East Apoorva Gupta.

The accused allegedly conducted reconnaissance in the area for a week and four days before zeroing in on the family on June 28.

At around 8 pm that day, Srivastava reached the sweets shop where the kidnapping happened and was waiting for an opportunity to execute his plan, police said. At around 10:30 pm, the victim’s car arrived near the shop, and as observed by the accused in many instances — parents left their children inside their car, the engine running.

The accused then quickly entered the car, claiming to help it move on the instance of the children’s father, police added. The accused then drove towards the Outer Ring Road via the Geeta Colony flyover, and Rajghat at high speed.

When the daughter protested, he flashed a meat chopper at her and threatened to harm her if she didn’t keep quiet.

According to the police, when the father realised that the car was missing, he called on his wife’s phone, which was left with the children. The accused picked up the call and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh for returning the children safe and sound. He had planned on collecting the ransom using fast delivery app services.

Four teams, two of them being accompanied by the father and the mother respectively, intercepted the vehicle at multiple checkpoints through technical surveillance.

After 200 km of running over three hours, realising that he was being chased by multiple police vehicles, he abandoned the vehicle near Samaypur Badli Railway Station in a dark, isolated area and fled to evade capture.

Most of the valuables, including jewellery and mobile phones were found in the car. The bag allegedly being carried by Srivastava at the time of the incident, containing a meat chopper and a hammer, was found in the car as well.

However, Rs 5,700 in cash was found missing from the 3-year-old son’s bag. The accused is a resident of Mandawali in Delhi and dropped out of school after class X. He works as a mechanic and has previously driven cabs and been a delivery partner for Swiggy and Zomato, making him well aware of the NCT topography, police said.

“The accused was arrested at his home, on Shiv Mandir road, Mandavli at around 4:30 pm. He belongs to Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh,” a police official at Shakarpur police station said. “The family that was targeted was going back home via Vikas Marg on the day of the incident but took a U-Turn as the daughter wanted to have sweets,” he said.