Rs 5,000 UPI trail, cybercafe CCTV help Delhi Police rescue 13-year-old within 3 hours

NEW DELHI: A Rs 5,000 UPI transfer that served as a digital trail, the cooperation of a cybercafe owner and a trap laid in a narrow lane in Karawal Nagar helped Delhi Police rescue a 13-year-old boy and arrest his kidnapper within three hours of his mother reporting his disappearance.The accused, identified as Akash, had allegedly kidnapped the boy and demanded a ransom of Rs 40,000.Police arrested him within three hours of receiving information, when he returned to collect the ransom after the Rs 5,000 UPI transfer at a cybercafe in Karawal Nagar, a police officer said on Sunday.The incident came to light on October 30, when a woman approached Jyoti Nagar police station in Shahdara and reported that her son had gone out to buy some items but had not returned."She subsequently received a call from an unidentified person demanding Rs 40,000 for his release. A case was registered, and a team was constituted to trace the child and apprehend the accused," the officer said.During the investigation, the kidnapper contacted the woman again and insisted that the ransom be paid through UPI. He sent her a barcode, following which police transferred Rs 5,000 using the account of a police personnel to trace the transaction."Technical surveillance led the investigators to a cybercafe in Karawal Nagar, where the owner disclosed that a man, accompanied by a minor boy, had used his UPI barcode to receive Rs 5,000 in exchange for a commission of Rs 50," the officer added.Police then examined the cybercafe's CCTV footage, which the woman used to identify her missing son."We then initiated another transaction of Rs 5,000 through the same barcode to lure the accused to come again to the same place," he said.The accused returned to the cybercafe with the boy to collect the money in cash. With the cafe owner's assistance, police personnel apprehended him and rescued the child safely.During interrogation, Akash told police that he worked as a delivery helper in Sadar Bazar and knew the victim through his cousin. He had allegedly lured the boy onto his scooter before calling his mother to demand ransom, police said.Police recovered Rs 5,000 in cash, the mobile phone allegedly used to make the ransom call and the scooter used in the kidnapping. The cafe owner had also received Rs 50 as commission for facilitating the transaction.Police said the accused had no previous criminal involvement and that the rescued boy had been reunited with his family.They are also investigating whether the accused planned the kidnapping alone or had help from anyone else.(With inputs from PTI)You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Delhi | Silver Rate in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi | Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Petrol Price in Delhi | Diesel Price in Delhi | CNG Price in Delhi | LPG Price in DelhiStay updated with the latest Delhi news. Download the TOI App.