Delhi Police rescued a 13-year-old boy and arrested a 22-year-old man in an alleged kidnapping-for-ransom case within three hours of receiving the complaint, officials said on Sunday, November 1. The boy's mother had reported at Jyoti Nagar police station in Shahdara on October 30 at around 7:15 pm that her son had gone out to buy some items and had not returned home.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

3 hoursTime from the complaint to the boy's rescue and the arrest
Rs 5,000Decoy UPI transfer police used to trace the accused
Section 140(2), BNSProvision under which the case was registered at Jyoti Nagar police station

A ransom demand that left a digital trail

Police said the alleged kidnapper contacted the family again and insisted the ransom be paid through UPI, sharing a barcode for the transfer. A police team led by Inspector Parvesh Kasana, Station House Officer of Jyoti Nagar, under the supervision of ACP Gokalpuri Tanvir Ashraf, transferred Rs 5,000 through that barcode from an account belonging to a police official. The transaction led investigators to a cybercafe in Karawal Nagar run by Sunil Saini, who told police a youth of about 21-22 had come with a minor boy and used the cafe's barcode to receive the money against a commission of Rs 50. Police checked the cafe's CCTV footage, in which the complainant identified her son.

Source: Mirror Now

To confirm the lead, police made a second transfer of Rs 5,000 through the same barcode. The accused allegedly returned to the cybercafe with the boy to collect the cash and was arrested on the spot, and the child was rescued unharmed. Police identified the accused as Akash, 22, a resident of Loni in Uttar Pradesh who worked as a delivery helper in Sadar Bazar; he allegedly told police he knew the boy through a cousin. Officers recovered Rs 5,000 in cash including the Rs 50 commission, the mobile phone allegedly used for the ransom call, and the scooty allegedly used in the kidnapping.

Source: Nation Press (IANS)

The allegations against the accused are yet to be tested in court, and police said further investigation is under way. The boy was reunited with his family.