The Crime Branch on Monday rescued an 11-year-old boy who was kidnapped on February 10 from Bandra. According to the police,they arrested three personsPraveen Singh (27),Sandeep Singh (22) and Ajay Singh (20) for kidnapping the boy. The victim,a school student,usually leaves home for school at 6:45 am in an autorickshaw. His parents are working in BPOs. On February 10,when he did not return home from the school,his father enquired about him with the school authorities. According to them,his son was absent in the school that day, said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria. On the same day,the victims father received an anonymous phone calls at 2.45 pm and 3:14 pm. When he responded,the caller hang up the phone. At 9:25 pm,his wife received a call on her mobile phone asking for Rs 17 lakh as ransom. All calls were made from PCOs in areas like Borivali,Malad,Shivaji Park and Mahim. On the basis of information received,we rescued the boy this afternoon and arrested the kidnappers, said Maria. According to the police,Praveen used to work as a cable operator in Kandivili before becoming an autorickshaw driver. His brother Pramod is a Chhota Rajan aide. The police said Pramod has around 23 cases registered against him in Mumbai. Sandeep,a resident of Wadala,is an employee of a water-proofing company in Kandivil. Ajay is Sandeeps brother-in-law. Praveens business was not doing well. He decided to earn some quick money by kidnapping somebody. Around 10-15days ago,the accused recceed some schools in Khar and Bandra and found children going to school in autorickshaws. On the day of the kidnap,Praveen stole an autorickshaw from Bandra. The victim hailed this autorickshaw from a junction in Khar. Sandeep got into the autorickshaw a nearby place and made the victim unconscious, said Maria. The kidnappers took the child to the MHADA transit accommodation near Mount Mary church. When the child protested,they threatened him with a toy revolver and gave him depressant tablets to make him drowsy,said police.
