8-yr-old boy abducted from UP’s Gonda rescued; 5 held

After the failure in the Kanpur botched up kidnapping case of a lab technician, Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday heaved a sigh of relief as they managed to save an 8-year-old boy who was abducted from Gonda. The STF team after a brief encounter with the kidnappers early on Saturday recovered the child and arrested five kidnappers, including a woman.

The abduction was reported on Friday afternoon. Following which the kidnappers asked for a Rs 4 crore ransom and even dared the family against reporting the case to the police. Telephone conversation made public showed the woman reminding the family that nexus with police does not pay off as they must have seen in the Vikas Dubey case.

During the encounter, two kidnappers were shot in the leg.

ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar told the media that several police teams were deployed after the FIR of the kidnapping was lodged.

He said, the encounter took place on Saturday morning on the information of an informer in the Para village of Gonda district. The kidnappers were taking the boy to another place by car, he added.

Two kidnappers who were shot in the leg have been identified as Umesh Yadav and Deepu Kashyap. The other persons who have been arrested include Suraj Pandey, his wife Chitra Pandey and his younger brother Raj Pandey.

The injured kidnappers have been admitted in a hospital for treatment. A car, one pistol and two country-made weapons have been recovered from them.

Prashant Kumar said that a reward of Rs 1 lakh each has been announced by the government to STF and local police. The matter is being investigated and more people involved in the case are being traced on the information of those arrested.

The incident of kidnapping took place on Friday afternoon around 1.30 p.m. at Karnailganj area of Gonda district. The kidnappers approached the house of a local businessman Hari Gupta who is a grocery store owner.

The kidnappers identified themselves as volunteers distributing masks and sanitizers and grabbed the child, who is the grandson of Gupta.

This comes just a day after a daring attempt was made in the national capital by two men to snatch away a 4-year-old child from his mother right from their doorstep. Spirited fight by the mother saved the boy as neighbours chased the culprits, who were later nabbed by the police.

The family came to know about the kidnapping when the miscreants called up the child's father and Gupta's son. The kidnappers asked him to arrange for Rs 4 crore as ransom.