Businessman’s car driver, accomplice arrested for kidnap of 3-year-old child

BENGALURU: The Bannerghatta police have arrested two people who had kidnapped a three-year-old child in the hope of demanding a ransom, but had later abandoned the child in a wooded area.

The duo kidnapped the child from near the house.

Saravana, a resident of Weavers Colony, was working as a car driver with Manjunath Reddy, a businessman, at Kalkere near Bannerghatta. Along with his accomplice Prashant, a resident of Billekahalli, he planned to kidnap his employer’s child and demand a ransom of Rs 1 crore hoping that they would at least get Rs 20-30 lakh, the police said.

CCTV footage shows one of the kdnappers grabbing the child.

Around 10 pm on August 19, the duo snatched Reddy’s daughter when she was playing near the house and escaped on a scooter. However, when locals started giving a chase, they dumped the child in a wooded area and escaped.

The child with the mother after she was rescued by locals

After the incident, Saravan had switched off his mobile phone and was hiding at Krishnapura in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagalur district. Prashant continued to live in Billekahalli.

The Bannerghatta police arrested the duo.

Based on CCTV footage and the duo’s abandoned two-wheeler, the police finally tracked them down and arrested them.