Lucknow: A 17-year-old NEET aspirant feigned his own kidnapping and death to extort money from his father to pay the debt he had incurred playing online games.
The boy called his family, pretending to be a kidnapper, and demanded Rs 5 lakh as ransom. The father, worried about his son's safety, arranged for Rs 3 lakh. However, a police investigation revealed the conspiracy. The son, whom the family believed to be kidnapped or dead, was found safe and sound with his girlfriend.
The incident took place in Lucknow. The teenager went missing after 9 pm on October 20. His mother filed a missing person report at the Para police station. The teenager's father works for a private company in Delhi.
According to the police, after leaving home, the teenager removed the SIM card from his mobile phone. He then sent a kidnapping message to his mother, father, and uncle via WhatsApp over Wi-Fi. Shortly afterwards, he sent a voice note with a disguised voice demanding the ransom. To pressurise the family further, he told them he had died.
During the investigation, the police discovered that the teenager himself was behind the kidnapping and death story. The police recovered him safely along with his girlfriend. The family was subsequently informed.
According to DCP Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, the teenager was addicted to online gaming. He had previously lost approximately Rs 70,000, which the family had reimbursed. Even after this, he continued playing the game and lost approximately Rs 50,000.
His family stopped paying him after repeated requests, leading the teen to stage a fake kidnapping to repay the debt.