30-year-old held for kidnapping 6-year-old boy in Noida

A 30-year-old man was arrested in Gautam Buddh Nagar on Sunday for kidnapping a six-year-old boy from Naya Bans village in Phase-2, Noida, earlier last week, said police officers aware of the matter, adding that the boy was rescued 12 hours after he was kidnapped.

According to Anil Kumar Yadav, deputy commissioner of police (central Noida), the Phase-2 police station received a complaint on the night of June 22 from Harbeer Kashyap, a resident of Naya Bans village who runs an eatery.

“Kashyap said that his son had been missing since evening, and the family could not find him. We immediately registered a first information report and sent teams to find the child. A few hours later, Kashyap got a call from the kidnapper, who asked for a ransom of ₹20,000 for the safe return of his son,” said DCP Yadav.

Investigators decided to track the suspect through his mobile number. “The suspect said he would hurt the child if Kashyap contacted the police. Our teams continued to assist Kashyap, and our priority was to rescue the child. The suspect demanded that Kashyap transfer ₹20,000 to his digital wallet, and we told Kashyap to follow the kidnapper’s instructions,” said the officer.

The suspect told Kashyap he would hand over the child at a park in NSEZ (Noida Special Economic Zone). “On the afternoon of June 23, after the ransom money was already transferred, the complainant demanded ₹10,000 again on the same digital wallet. The transaction was carried out, and later, we found the child sitting on a bench in NSEZ. The child was returned to his family,” said the DCP.

The police then began tracking the suspect. “We put the suspect’s mobile number under surveillance and scanned footage from several CCTV cameras in Naya Bans village and near the complainant’s eatery to identify him. Investigators found that the suspect withdrew cash from a Jan Seva Kendra (ATM in rural areas) in Bhangel village. Through local intelligence and manual surveillance, we tracked the suspect and arrested him from Sector 37 Botanical Garden on Sunday morning,” said DCP Yadav.

The suspect was identified as Barun, known only by a single name, who is the complainant, Kashyap’s neighbour. Police officers said that Barun was a regular customer at Kashyap’s eatery.

“Barun has previously been to jail for bike theft in 2017 and kidnapping in 2021. He was released on bail in both cases,” said Dr Rajeev Dixit, additional deputy commissioner of police, Central Noida. “We saw CCTV footage in which Barun lured the child by offering him chowmein, chocolates and other food items. On June 22, Barun took the child to Gurugram, from where he called Kashyap for the ransom demand. On June 23, he brought the child back to Noida after receiving the ransom. The child was found unharmed,” said Dixit.

The suspect was booked under charges of kidnapping with ransom under the Indian Penal Code. He was sent to judicial custody.