MANGALURU: An eight-year-old boy, abducted from Ujire in Dakshina Kannada district for ransom in cryptocurrency, was rescued in Kolar on Saturday. The accused are Ranjith, a data input operator at a software company, Hanumatu and Gangadhar, both cab drivers, Kamal, mechanic, Manjunath, tailor and Mahesh, a painter.
They are in the 21-26 age group and hail from Mandya, Mysuru, Bengaluru and Kolar. Looking ahead is a bit more involved, including the mastermind behind the capture. The boy and his grandfather AK Sivan were out for a walk near their house Thursday night when four people got in a car and kidnapped the boy. Subsequently, the kidnappers called the boy’s father, using Madhya Pradesh SIM, demanding a ransom of 100 Bitcoins (BTC), which is close to Rs 18 crore.
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Dakshina Kannada SP BM Laxmiprasad said the main accused, whose identity has not been revealed, is familiar with the boy’s father, Bijoy – who runs a hardware store – and that they were in the same business until three years ago. back. He was aware that Bijoy was trading in Bitcoins and therefore demanded the ransom in cryptocurrency as it was difficult to track. The main accused had hired four people for the job and promised to pay them Rs 7 lakh.
The SP said they were able to arrest the accused after launching the investigation from various angles, including finding those who knew Bijoy was a Bitcoin trader. The hijackers arrived in Kolar after traveling through Madikeri, Mandya and Bengaluru. They had kept the boy in the house of an accused and not hurt him. The boy didn’t raise an alarm either.
The SP said that further investigation will reveal whether the main accused committed the offense for ransom only or over personal hostility. Police handed over the boy to his parents after getting permission from a Kolar magistrate.