Kidnapped Dehradun youth released, police arrest five abductors

Police blamed Sanjay and his family for the kidnapping plot. Other two arrested were Daniel and Saranjit. Police made it clear that there is a no criminal record of those arrested. Police claimed Waliyan was fed up with his poor financial position and thus, executed this crime.

The police claimed that the boy’s family members trusted the police team and extended their full co-operation to trace the criminals involved in this crime.

Harshit was kidnapped from the Basant Vihar locality of Dehradun on Saturday. He had gone to get his mobile recharged. However, he could not return to his home till late evening. Later, the family members got ransom calls from his kidnappers. Harshit’s father Girish Tayal is posted as an officer in the BSNL and resides in Engineer Enclave, Dehradun.

“All the cellphone numbers, which criminals used in this crime, were put on surveillance. After the release of boy, we swung into action and arrested all the five persons involved in this kidnapping case, besides recovering the money,” DIG (Garhwal range) Sanjay Gunjyal told reporters at a press conference on Monday evening.

Gunjyal said the criminals had demanded five crore as ransom money from the boy’s family. He added they reduced their demand later and asked family members to pay two crore. According to him, they had planned to kidnap another boy. “Harshit was not their target. They had planned to kidnap another boy of the same locality,” he explained the reason for reduction in the amount of ransom money.

Explaining the different stages of police investigation, the DIG Gunjyal said police had remained in constant touch with the family members. “The criminals had directed the family members to throw red bag containing the amount of 34 lakhs from a running train near Motichur on Dehradun-Hardwar railway track. My policemen accompanied the family members in plain clothes in the train,” DIG Gunjyal said.

“After the train crossed Raiwala station, the kidnappers had contacted the family members to ascertain his location. As per their direction, the family members were asked to see for a torched light and then throw the bag containing the money, he added. According to him, family members did the same. “We had already identified them. We just waited for the release of the boy,” he said.

Later, the family members contacted the kidnappers and asked them to release the boy. They finally released the boy around 4.30 am today morning at a location near Jawalapur. The boy reached near a highway and managed to talk to his father through a passerby’s mobile number.

“Soon after the boy met his father, we swung into action and arrested all the five persons who were involved in this crime,” DIG Gunjyal said.

Gunjyal said that it was Sanjay’s daughter Minakshi who approached Harshit and enquired about an address when he was at a recharging his mobile phone. Harshit took her on his two-wheeler to show her the address. The criminals intercepted him by a car at an isolated location and then kidnapped him.

Police have also seized three vehicles, including two cars and a bike, used in this crime. Besides, they have recovered the mobile phones and SIM cards, used by the criminals to kidnap the boy. “We have also got recorded their voice,” SSP (Dehradun) Ajay Rautela said.