Two arrested for kidnapping Delhi boy

NEW DELHI - The manager of a construction firm and the son of a retired police official were arrested for abducting a Class 6 student of G.D. Goenka School, Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal said Monday.

Kamal Goel, manager of a construction company, and his accomplice Vinay Mishra, son of a retired sub-inspector, were arrested Sunday for kidnapping the 11-year-old boy while he was on his way to school in Rohini area on Jan 22. They had taken Rs.1.5 crore ransom for releasing the boy.

Goel, 40, Mishra, 25, and their third accomplice Dharmender, who is on the run, waylaid the boy’s car when he was being driven to school in Begum Pur area around 8 a.m. The men kidnapped the boy and took away the driver’s mobile phone.

They called up the victim’s parents and demanded Rs.2 crore ransom. The victim’s father, a well known businessman, paid Rs.1.5 crore following which the boy was let off Jan 23.

“We have arrested two men and recovered Rs.14.6 million from them. We are looking for another man involved in the crime,” said Dadwal.

Dadwal said the men had attempted to kidnap a businessman in Pitampura area in October last year. They broke the windows of the victim’s BMW car but failed to kidnap him.

“The boy’s father is known to the owner of the company where Kamal Goel works. Kamal studied the activities of the boy and kidnapped the child when he was going to school. He kept the child in his house,” he added.

Asked if the police were aware that the victim’s father had paid the ransom, he said: “We always advise people in such cases not to pay. But they become over emotional and pay the money. I do not want to comment on this further as the safety of the child is paramount to us.”