Kidnappers pose as cops, use Fiat car to abduct teenager in Patna

Fourteen-year-old Zeyad Arif, a Class IX student, had hardly reached his bus stop at Patliputra Colony in Patna to board his school bus when a Fiat car stopped by him.

A man posing as a policeman rushed out of the car, brandished his pistol and forced Zeyad into the vehicle. The "cops" told the unsuspecting student that they had received an eve-teasing complaint against him and were taking him to the police station where his father Mohammed Arif Malik would also be summoned.

The five "cops" made the boy lie between the front and rear seat of the car while one of them put a revolver on his head. Zeyad was blindfolded and taken miles away at the bypass.

When the abductors removed the cloth from Zeyad's eyes, only then the boy realised the truth. His worst fear came true when he overheard one of the abductors making Rs 1.5 crore ransom call to his engineer father for his safe release.

Out of the five abductors, one was Zeyad's neighbour Waqar, who was sent to his home to keep a tab on the movement of his family members.

Waqar made around 50 calls to his associates giving details of minute-by-minute developments, including that Zeyad's family have lodged a kidnapping case with police.

Meanwhile, the Patna Police, headed by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj, swung into action and put several phones on surveillance. Waqar's phone also came under the radar and he was arrested.

"Once taken into custody, Waqar spilled the beans that the entire kidnapping plan had been orchestrated by an event manager Shashi, who is under a debt of Rs 20 lakh. Had they got Rs 1.5 crore, Shashi would have kept Rs 60 lakh and the rest of the amount would have been equally distributed among the remaining four.

"Following Waqar's interrogation, the police conducted raids and, after a minor scuffle, recovered the boy on Wednesday evening," said the SSP, adding that Shashi belonged to a well-off family and was the son of a retired professor.

"We are grateful to SSP Manu Maharaj and the DIG, Central Range, Rajesh Kumar for the safe recovery of my son within 12 hours," said Zeyad's father Malik.