7YO boy abducted in movie-style kidnapping in Palnadu, released in Kavali

Palnadu: In a filmy-style kidnapping, a 7-year-old boy was abducted from a temple in Chilakaluripet in Palnadu district and later released. The kidnappers abducted the boy, Rajeev, from a temple but for fear of getting caught by the police, they left the boy near Nellore district and absconded.

Rajeev's father Saravana is a grain merchant in Chennai. The boy and his mother Aruna were visiting the hometown for Dasara. On Sunday night, while his family members were at the Poleramma temple, some unknown persons kidnapped the boy outside the temple. At the time of the incident, there was a power cut on the temple premises.

According to the Chilakaluripeta Urban CI, Rajeswara Rao, the boy lives near the temple. He was returning home alone at around 9.45 p.m, when the kidnappers covered his face with his hoodie and pulled him into a car.

A few hours later, at around 11.30 p.m, the boy's father Saravana, who is in Chennai, got a call from the kidnappers who demanded Rs. 1 crore to release the boy. When Saravana tried to negotiate with the kidnappers and told them he could pay Rs. 30 lakhs, the kidnappers threatened to kill the boy if he did not pay Rs. 1 crore immediately. "On registering a complaint, we formed two teams and started an investigation. We tracked the phone numbers, checked all CCTV footage, and identified a few suspects. We found that the suspects were travelling to different places," said the CI.

Speaking to the media, Rajeev said that the kidnappers threatened to kill him if he did not tell his father's contact number.

As the police were closing in on the kidnappers, the boy was found safe in a car near Kavali on 3 October. The boy was handed over to his parents. The police suspect that the kidnappers knew the boy's family.

The investigation is still on to identify the accused.