Bizman kidnaps boy for ransom, walks into Bengaluru cops’ ‘money bag’ trap

BENGALURU: A businessman who ran a cloud kitchen and suffered losses allegedly kidnapped a nine-year-old boy for ransom. He was arrested and the captive rescued and reunited with his family within 14 hours in Electronics City.
Jasmauddin Sheik, 23, locked the boy inside his flat and messaged his father, demanding Rs 10 lakh for his release. A few hours later, the boy’s father messaged saying Rs 5 lakh was ready.The businessman told the father to keep the money near a shop close to his apartment. To check everything was alright, he went near the shop only to be picked up by plainclothes policemen.
The man from Ranchi in Jharkhand, who had come to Bengaluru nine months ago, ran a cloud kitchen from his flat, police said. However, Sheik is said to have suffered losses and was finding it difficult to meet his expenses.
He would visit a shop near his apartment complex for cigarettes and tea. There, he noticed the boy playing with others. Sheik made friends with the boy by buying him chocolates and snacks regularly. On Monday evening, he called the boy, saying it was his birthday and he would cut a cake. Taking him in an autorickshaw, Sheik moved around in Electronics City. After 9pm, he took the boy to his flat where he threatened him with a knife and told him to sleep, which he did.
According to police, Sheik, who had taken his father's phone number, sent him a message on WhatsApp: “I have kidnapped your son. Give Rs 10 lakh to get him back.”
The boy’s father alerted police. By midnight, with help of CCTV footage, they saw the man taking the boy with him and boarding the auto. “The boy was conversing with the man, indicating that the kidnapper was known to him. By 9am (Wednesday), we discovered the flat near where the duo alighted from the auto. We told the boy’s father to send him a message saying the money was ready. Not sensing the trap, Sheik replied, telling the father to keep the cash bag near the cigarette stall and walk away. We caught him and rescued the boy,” an investigating officer said.