Kidnapper flees after 3-hour chase, leaves 2 kids unharmed in car

An 11-year-old girl and her three-year-old brother were allegedly kidnapped by a man who fled with the children in their parents’ car from outside a sweet shop in east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar on Friday night, said police.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Apoorva Gupta reported that the kids were safely rescued, and the stolen car was recovered after a three-hour chase by police. Police received a call at 11:40 PM reporting the kidnapping. The parents had traveled from Faridabad to Karkardooma to visit an eatery and had stopped at a sweet shop in Laxmi Nagar, leaving the children in the car with the engine running. When they returned, the car and the children were missing.

When the parents returned, they saw that the car was gone and so were the children. Parents alleged that accused them and asked for a ransom of ₹50 lakh. “He was negotiating through the phone of victim’s mother which was with her daughter at the time of kidnapping. The GPS system in the car was also active,” the officer said.

A police team, including two Station House Officers, was formed. The parents also joined the pursuit. Using technical surveillance, the team tracked the car. “With the help of technical surveillance, the team was able to get the location of the car. After a three-hour chase involving around 20 police vehicles, the kidnapper abandoned the vehicle with the children inside and escaped,” DCP Gupta said. The car and the children were found in Samaypur Badli. A medical examination confirmed that both children were unharmed. Valuables, including jewelry and mobile phones, were intact, as the suspect fled fearing capture

The 11-year-old girl informed the police that the kidnapper had used a gun to threaten them. Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and initiated a probe, as the suspect remains at large. CCTV footage has been obtained and is being analysed, showing a clear image of the suspect’s face, said an officer associated with the case, adding efforts are ongoing to apprehend him.