Maharashtra: Inspired by crime serial, 2 kidnap boy; held within 3 hrs

Inspired by a popular television crime show, two men allegedly kidnapped a 13-year-old boy from suburban Malad on Sunday and demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh but their luck ran out soon as police tracked them down through their mobile phone location within three hours, an official said.

The accused Shekhar Vishwakarma (35) and Divyanshu Vishwakarma (21) were arrested around 7:30 PM, about two-and-a-half hours after they kidnapped the boy, who was playing outside his house in Adarsh Nagar area, in an autorickshaw, he said. They rang up the boy's father on his mobile phone and demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh for his release, he said.

However, the father of the boy immediately approached police, who tracked down the duo to Valnai Colony in Malad (west) and arrested them, the official said, adding that the boy was rescued unharmed. During their interrogation, the accused duo told the police that they got the idea to kidnap the boy after watching a popular crime show and receeed various areas in search of a potential target. A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 363 (Punishment for kidnapping), the official said.