The Hindu : National : Anant kidnap mastermind held

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Monday, Nov 20, 2006
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National

Anant kidnap mastermind held

Devesh K. Pandey

NOIDA: The alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of Adobe executive Naresh Gupta's three-year-old son Anant who was released on payment of a ransom of Rs. 50 lakhs on Friday, was arrested at Noida on Saturday.

Conspiracy

Noida Senior Superintendent of Police R.K.S. Rathore told reporters at a press conference that Chhatrapal and his accomplice Pawan had conspired to kidnap Anant. During interrogation, Chhatrapal allegedly disclosed that he wanted to become a film actor. He lived in Mumbai for some time under a fictitious name and even worked in a tele-serial. "As he did not get any good offers, he came back and decided to make some quick money," said Mr. Rathore.

A movie buff, Chhatrapal plotted the entire kidnapping script, drawing ideas from different movies.

Chhatrapal's father works at a Mother Dairy outlet near Anant's Noida Sector 15-A house. During his visits to the outlet, he saw Anant and it was then that he allegedly decided to kidnap the child for a ransom. About a week before the incident, Chhatrapal and Pawan allegedly robbed one Suresh Sharma of his motorcycle at New Ashok Nagar in East Delhi and changed its registration number plate.

After the first failed attempt on November 10, the accused struck again on November 13 morning kidnapping Anant when he was waiting for his school bus near his house. "The two drove past Gate No. 1 of the Sector towards Hapur Road where they got the fuel tank filled and then they proceeded towards Hardoi. They obtained the contact numbers of Anant's parents from his school identity card and made the first ransom call that evening demanding Rs. 50 lakhs. They stayed that night at the house of Pawan's relative and went to Khairnangla village via Farukkhabad the next day," said Mr. Rathore.

They stayed there in a tube-well shed of one Sunil. They then proceeded towards Mathura where they kept the child in a temple.

While making ransom calls, the accused allowed the child to talk with his mother once and directed her to send his uncle along with the money. They also demanded that the bag containing the money should be thrown out of a running train when told.

"Accordingly, Anant's uncle Lalit boarded Dehra Dun Express and around 2-30 a.m. he threw the bag from the running train on seeing a torch being flashed," said Mr. Rathore.

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