Navi Mumbai: Koparkhairane Police rescued a 15-year-old boy who had been kidnapped for ransom, within just one and a half hours of the complaint being lodged. The accused had demanded Rs 12 lakh for the release of the minor.
The incident came to light when Sanjay Narayan Bhosale, a resident of Sector 3, Ghansoli, filed a complaint at 9:30 PM on Wednesday, reporting the abduction of his son. Based on the complaint, police launched an urgent search and rescue operation.
The accused — Raj Bhalerao (32) and Yash Garud (26), both residents of Nashik — allegedly kidnapped the boy over an old financial dispute. They contacted the victim’s father and demanded a hefty ransom for the boy's safe return.
"Me and my husband were in office at Millenium Business Park on Wednesday when my son called and informed about the men visiting our residence. One of the accused in the last had invested Rs 4 lakh with us and he started demanding Rs 12 lakh in return or else they would harm my son. Saying so, they took my son away," the boy's mother Ekta said.
She added, "I was terrified and I didn't know what to do. We headed towards Koparkhairane police station. I was not in a state to speak as well. My husband spoke to the police and within 10 mins the police were ready with the location of the accused. I had a notion that police do not do their work properly but I was wrong. I saw how the police handled the whole situa6veey promptly and within 90 mins, I got my son back."
The boy kept misguiding the accused by showing wrong directions which gave more time for the police to trace them and nab. The accused were planning to go to Nashik.
Senior Police Inspector Audumbar B. Patil formed three special teams: Gunda Squad led by API Nitin Kumbhar, Detection Branch headed by API Rajesh Mahala and Beat Marshal Unit led by API Sunil Bodke.
The police tracked the suspects and laid a strategic trap by negotiating the ransom. Within 90 minutes, the accused were located and arrested in the Rabale area. The boy was rescued unharmed around 11:00 PM.
"We had laid the trap in civil clothes and nabbed the accused in the pretext of handing over the ransom," PI Patil said. The accused have a criminal history at Nashik.
The case has been registered under CR No. 468/25, with charges framed under Sections 140(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Both suspects are currently in police custody.
