India: Man asks ransom for boy he never ‘abducted’

A 26-year-old male has been convicted by an Indian court for demanding ransom for the release of a minor whom he had never kidnapped, a foreign news agency reported.

The order read that the convict Kalim Isshaq Ansari has been found guilty under section 387 on the Indian Penal Code (putting any person in fear of death or of grievous hurt for committing extortion). The court has also ordered him to pay an INR10,000 fine.

In the hearing, Vinit Kulkarni – a public prosecutor – informed the court that police had filed a kidnapping case on March 27 back in 2015 after the minor – whose name was not been disclosed in the report – went missing in Thane city. The boy’s parents then received a call on April 1 in which the suspects were demanding INR0.1 million ransom for his release.

The suspect had threatened of killing the boy if the parents did not give him the money.

Police had managed to arrest three people which included a juvenile but the boy was not found then. One of the suspects has been acquitted by a sessions court.

It was not the first time that Kalim Isshaq Ansari has indulged in such behaviour. He had phoned many parents of missing and kidnapped children by posing himself as a kidnapper and demanding ransom for their release.

Earlier, a writ petition was filed and the missing case was handed to a team lead by Assistant Commissioner of Police Bharat Shelke. The missing boy was found four years later from Nerol.

The boy had fled from home over the fears of failing his exams. He started working with a caterer. However, he did not know that he had passed the exams as he had already fled from his house by then.