UP Police, STF Joint Operation Rescues 8-Year-Old Kidnapped From Gonda; 5 Arrested After Encounter

The 8-year-old grandson of a local businessman was kidnapped on Friday and the abductors demanded a ransom of Rs 4 crore by calling the family.

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Gonda: Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday managed to rescue an 8-year-old who was kidnapped in Gonda in a case of abduction for ransom.  It was a joint operation carried out by Uttar Pradesh Police and Special Task Force. The team nabbed the kidnappers early on Saturday and rescued the child. 5 captors including a woman have been arrested. However, when the police reached the criminals a brief encounter ensued, in which, two kidnappers were shot in the leg. ADG Law and Order Prashant Kumar, while interacting with the media, said that after the FIR was lodged, many police teams were deployed on the ground. He revealed that the encounter took place on Saturday morning on a tip received from an informer in Gonda district's Para village. The kidnappers were taking the boy to another place by car, he added. The two kidnappers who were shot at have been identified as Umesh Yadav and Deepu Kashyap. The other accomplices arrested are Suraj Pandey, his wife Chitra Pandey, and his younger brother Raj Pandey. The injured ones have been admitted to a hospital. A car, one pistol and two country-made weapons have been recovered. The Uttar Pradesh government announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh each to the STF and local police. Further investigation is underway and the police will try to get more information from the arrested abductors. How The Kidnapping Took Place The case was reported on Friday after the abductors demanded a ransom of Rs 4 Crore and threatened the family against going to the cops. The woman on the phone call told the family that an association with the police will yield undesirable consequences by reminding them of the Vikas Dubey case. The kidnapping took place around 1.30 p.m. on Friday at the Karnailganj area in Gonda district. Reportedly, some people reached the house of a local businessman Hari Gupta who is a grocery store owner. The abductors carried fake ID cards posing to be health department officials, distributing masks and sanitizers. They called the grandson of Gupta and on the pretext of giving him a sanitiser, grabbed the child and pulled him inside a car. The case was reported only days after two men tried to kidnap a 4-year-old child right in front of his house in Delhi. The mother's relentless fight and neighbours' help saved the child. The kidnappers were arrested by the police.