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Bengaluru: A 23-year-old aspiring businessman has been arrested for abducting a 10-year-old boy and demanding a Rs 10-lakh ransom from his parents.
Electronics City police identified the suspect as Jasimuddin Sheikh, originally from Jharkhand. He moved to Bengaluru about nine months ago and resided in an apartment complex in Pragathi Nagar, near Electronics City.
According to the police, Sheikh, who completed his hotel management degree in Jharkhand, moved to Bengaluru to set up a cloud kitchen. However, his business failed to turn a profit, leading to financial difficulties. Sheikh reportedly lived a lavish lifestyle and incurred substantial debts. To pay his bills and clear his debts, he conspired and executed the abduction of a child from his neighbourhood.
Investigators reported that Sheikh lured the 10-year-old neighbourhood boy with a cake on June 17 at around 6 pm. The suspect allegedly took the boy to his house, showed him a knife, and instructed the boy to remain silent until his parents sent the ransom money.
An investigator told DH that the suspect later that night dialled the boy’s parents and demanded Rs 10 lakh from them, prompting them to file a police complaint.
Police reviewed CCTV footage from the location but initially found no leads. They later traced the phone number used to contact the boy’s parents, leading them to a crucial clue when they visited the location from where the call originated.
“The suspect booked multiple auto-rickshaws and kept moving around to avoid being traced. CCTV footage from the vicinity provided a lead,” the investigator said, adding that they arrested him within 12 hours of the complaint being filed.
According to the police, the boy had seen Sheikh multiple times in the locality and thus went with him without suspicion.