K'taka: Kidnappers demand Rs 20 lakh as boy's ransom, say OK' to old notes

Bengaluru: A 12-year-old boy was kidnapped by four men in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district while he was on his way to a music class with a friend. The men demanded Rs 20 lakhs as ransom and told the boy’s parents that they could pay the amount in old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000.

According to a report, Devakumar was stopped on his way to his class by men who were in an auto. The men asked the boy for directions to a hospital and got him to get inside the vehicle to guide them.

As soon as Devakumar got inside the auto, the men tied him up and kidnapped him. He was taken to a place in Kapanur, which is an industrial area. The men intimidated the young boy and made him give them his parents’ number and made an extortion call.

Due to the recent demonetisation of Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes, the kidnappers realised his parents may have difficulty in paying them cash, so they told Devakumar’s distraught father that he could pay the ransom of Rs 20 lakhs in old notes.

The boy was however rescued by the Karnataka police and was handed over to his parents. Kalaburagi SP Shashikumar said that the kidnappers hit the boy with a sharp object, leading to minor injuries.

The kidnappers have been arrested and were identified as Shridhar Shivasharanappa Sangolagi, Vinod Ashok Kotagi and Vijaya Dashrath Kotga.

According to police, all the culprits were in their early 20s and had planned the kidnapping to pay off loans they had taken from various people. The men owed people a total of Rs 6 lakhs and were planning to go on an extravagant holiday to Goa with the remaining ransom money.