The Manpada Police arrested two individuals and detained two minors for allegedly kidnapping a builder’s son and demanding a ransom of ₹2 crore for his release, police said on Friday. Within three hours, the police successfully rescued the boy, apprehended four suspects, and launched a manhunt for one more accused.
The victim, identified as Kewalya Bhoir (7), resides with his father, Mahesh Bhoir, a builder by profession, and his mother in Anantam Regency Township, Dombivli. The arrested accused have been identified as Viren Patil, an auto-rickshaw driver, and his friend Sanket, while two minors were also involved in the crime.
Kidnapping and Ransom Demand
According to police, Kewalya left home for school at 7:30 AM in Viren Patil’s auto-rickshaw as usual. However, Bhoir later received a distressing phone call from an unknown individual claiming that his son had been kidnapped. Shortly after, another caller, identifying himself as the kidnapper, demanded a ransom of ₹2 crore and threatened to kill the boy if the amount was not paid.
Panicked, Bhoir rushed to the Manpada Police Station and reported the kidnapping.
Swift Police Action
The Manpada Police immediately formed five teams to investigate the case, with three teams specifically assigned to track down the suspects using intelligence inputs. During the probe, officers became suspicious of Viren Patil, the auto-rickshaw driver. Using technical surveillance, they traced his location to Shahapur village in Thane district.
DCP Atul Zende (Kalyan) stated: “The Manpada Police Station received a kidnapping complaint at 9:30 AM on Friday. We formed seven teams for the investigation. The preliminary probe revealed that an auto-rickshaw driver was involved. By 12:30 PM, with the help of the Shahapur police, we traced the suspects, safely rescued the boy, and apprehended two individuals while detaining two minors. Further investigation is underway to identify other individuals involved in the crime.”
Rescue and Legal Action
Following the successful rescue, the child was safely handed over to his parents. The accused will be produced in court on Saturday, while investigations continue to determine if more individuals were part of the abduction plan.
