The HSR Layout police cracked a kidnap case and arrested a mechanic who allegedly held a PU student at gunpoint in his own car demanding ransom from his family on Friday.
The accused has been identified as Manu, a resident of a PG accommodation in Kodichikkanahalli and native of Tumakuru.
The victim, Jayasurya, 18, son of a city-based astrologer, was returning from NEET coaching in his SUV, when the accused, on the pretext of seeking a drop, got into the car and held him hostage at gunpoint and forced him to take him to an isolated place in Tilaknagar.
The accused forced the victim to make a video call to his mother and inform her that he was being kidnaped and demanded ransom for his safe release. The mother pleaded with him saying that she did not have cash, after which the accused demanded all the gold valuables at home and shared the location for delivery.
Shocked, the mother alerted her husband, who in turn called his advocate friend and narrated the incident. The advocate in turn called DCP Southeast C.K. Baba, who directed the police team to rush to the location shared.
A team of police reached the location, pinned down the accused, rescued Jayasurya, and seized the weapon from the accused.
The police later found out that the accused had a toy gun. The accused told the police that he had purchased the toy gun and was planning to kidnap for ransom to make quick money. The accused had recced for many days before zeroing in on Jayasurya who was moving around in an SUV. He was not aware of the family background and asked Jayasurya about his father’s profession. He soon cooked up a story that he had incurred huge loss due to his father’s prediction and kidnapped him to recover the loss, said the police.
The accused, a graduate from Tumakuru, came to the city in search of a job. After failing to get a job, he joined a workshop. The accused has been booked under Arms Act and kidnap.