Blackmailed with private photos by girlfriend, Mumbai man kidnaps own nephew for Rs 30 lakh ransom
In a shocking incident, a Mumbai-based research data analyst orchestrated the abduction of his eight-year-old nephew in Gujarat to extort Rs 30 lakh from the boy's father.
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In a shocking incident, a Mumbai-based research data analyst orchestrated the abduction of his eight-year-old nephew in Gujarat to extort Rs 30 lakh from the boy's father, police said on Saturday. Shahbaz Khan (26) devised the scheme to silence his girlfriend, who had allegedly been blackmailing him with compromising private photographs.
Shahbaz was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Friday evening in Agra's Jagdishpura area after his movements were traced with assistance from Gujarat Police. "Shahbaz was planning to escape to Mumbai when we arrested him. He has been remanded in custody, and our investigations are ongoing. His accomplices, Umer and Saud, were arrested earlier," an STF officer informed Times of India (TOI).
The incident unfolded when Adil Sheikh, an engineer based in Saudi Arabia, returned to Gujarat to attend a family wedding in Vapi, Valsad. On Monday, Shahbaz lured Adil's son, Afaq, with the promise of a new bicycle. The child was taken into a car, where Shahbaz and his accomplices suffocated him until he lost consciousness. Believing him dead, they abandoned him near a riverbank.
Afaq regained consciousness and used his mobile phone to contact his family, enabling the police to trace him. "My uncle took me, saying he would get me a bicycle," the boy later recounted to investigators.
Shahbaz had borrowed a car under false pretenses and enlisted the help of Umer and Saud, promising them Rs 5 lakh each for their involvement. To stall any rescue attempts, Shahbaz disabled his grandmother's phone and pretended to assist in the search for the boy. However, after the police successfully located Afaq, Shahbaz fled by train to Mathura and later to Agra.
The Gujarat Police, tracking Shahbaz's movements, shared his location with the UP STF. Police disclosed that Shahbaz had used three SIM cards registered under fake identities to make ransom calls, adding another layer of premeditation to the crime.
Shahbaz's motive stemmed from fear and desperation as his girlfriend allegedly demanded money to withhold incriminating photographs.
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