Mumbai boy fakes kidnap for Rs 30,000 to repair bike, sends dad QR code for ransom

MUMBAI: A 20-year-old man from Vasai stage-Rs 30,000 from his father to get his motorbike repaired. Four teams from Valiv police station tracked down the youth within two hours on Saturday.
On Friday, the man's father, Nanelal Yadav, filed a missing person's report after his 20-year-old son Ankit had not returned home at to their Shanti Nagar, Fatherwadisince Thursday evening.Ankit's cellphone was not reachable.
On Saturday morning, Ankit first called up his uncle from his cellphone and informed about "being kidnapped" by three men. He then sent a WhatsApp message to his father asking him to make an online payment of Rs 30,000 to the kidnappers by scanning a QR code. Ankit was not aware that his father had approached the police.
The father approached the cops again and showed them the messages. He told the police that Ankit was being threatened if the money was not paid.
"There seemed no reason for the son to leave his home without informing his parents. So, we initially thought that it was a genuine case of abduction," said assistant inspector Sachin Sanap who is the investigation officer.
The police teams fanned out across Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar. The QR scanner shared with the father by Ankit turned out to be that of a shopkeeper in Vasai phata. Police questioned the shopkeeper. but did not reveal much about what the shopkeeper had to say.
Ankit's call records were scanned and he was tracked down to Vasai phata within two hours.
Ankit was living in Vasai with his parents since a month. Prior to that, the family stayed in Surat.
Police said Ankit wanted to repair his bike and needed Rs 30,000. While Ankit had not asked his father for the money, he had presumed that his father would not give him cash to get the bike repaired.
A preliminary probe revealed that he planned to kidnap himself hours before he left home on Thursday. He travelled to Surat and returned early Friday. From here, he called up his father.
The son has now told the cops that he had not expected his father to approach the police. The police said that they counselled him and allowed him to go.