Man stages kidnapping drama, lands in police net

NEW DELHI - A 22-year-old man staged his own “kidnapping” and demanded ransom of Rs.20 lakh from his father so that he could take his girl friend for a holiday abroad. Instead, he, along with his friend, landed in the police net.

Pawan Verma, a resident of west Delhi, went missing Saturday, a police officer said Monday.

“Pawan left his Karol Bagh shop around 4 p.m. after receiving a phone call. When he did not return for quite some time, Pawan’s father called on his mobile phone and somebody else picked the phone and told him Pawan had been kidnapped,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Jaspal Singh said.

According to the police officer, the “kidnappers” later sent a text message demanding a ransom of Rs.20 lakh from Pawan’s father.

“All the communication by kidnappers was done through text messages rather than phone calls. Police started replying to the SMSes and a place was fixed to deliver the ransom money,” the DCP said.

The “abductors” agreed that Pawan’s brother, Puneet, would place the ransom money in the bushes around Dwarka sector nine.

“A police team was positioned nearby with Puneet and after some time Pawan came to pick the money bag. He was arrested and he confessed to planning the ransom drama to take his girl friend for a holiday to Macau,” he said.

Police also arrested Pawan’s friend, Himanshu, for supporting him in the kidnapping drama.