Boy kidnapped; Rs 7 lakh ransom demanded

ONGOLE: A three-year-old boy, D Harsha Vardhan Reddy, was kidnapped at Jodiredlapalem village of Peddaraveedu mandal in Prakasam district. The abductors reportedly left a letter demanding a ransom of Rs 7 lakh while taking away the child who was sleeping with his grandmother in the open verandah of the house in the small hours of Monday. The parents of the child lodged a complaint with the police, who launched a manhunt for the abductors.
However, it was not clear as to how many culprits took part in the kidnap episode.
The family of the child said they had no rivalry with anyone in the village. According to information, the abductors reported demanded Rs. seven lakh as ransom from the parents for freeing the child.
Although the father of the child, Lakshmi Narasa Reddy, is an auto driver, he has reportedly earned huge amounts through some real-estate deals in the last few years.
Initial police inquiries revealed that Narsa Reddy did not have any dispute with anyone. However, the police suspect that the kidnapers could be somebody known to the family as no outsider had a chance of knowing about Narsa Reddy's wealth. Sources said one of the kidnappers called up the family members of the child in the afternoon and threatened to kill the boy as they had informed the police despite being warned against it.
The kidnappers in their letter reportedly asked the parents to wait for further instructions on paying the ransom and warned them of serious consequences if they approached police. However, the boy's father rushed to the police early in the morning and lodged a complaint. Narsa Reddy said that the boy had slept with his grandmother in the late hours of Sunday and was found missing by morning.
Narsa Reddy said his mother suspected that the offender spread some powder on her face before fleeing with the child around 4 am as she woke up by 5 am.
Upon information, SP K Raghuramireddy directed the Markapuram police not to spare any effort in rescuing the boy. He set up a special team in Ongole to track the mobile signals of the abductors and alert the local police. Sources said the abductors were tracked to somewhere near Tripuranthakam area in Markapuram sub-division after he called up the parents threatening to kill the child.