Teen bunks college, fakes kidnapping

MUMBAI: Fearing a dressing down from his father for not having attended classes , a 17-year-old junior college student faked his own kidnapping on Friday.
The teenager, Shafique Khan (name changed), reportedly asked his classmate to call up his father and demand a ransom of Rs 15 lakh. Shafique thought that the kidnap plan would help him escape his father's wrath and earn some cash.Minutes after receiving the ransom call, Shafique's father Mustaq lodged a complaint with the Vinoba Bhave Nagar police around 6pm. The cops told Mustaq to wait for the kidnappers' call and seek more time to arrange for the cash. Shafique's friend, posing as a kidnapper, called again and realized that something was amiss when Mustaq agreed to give the money but asked for more time. The worried friend relayed his fears to Shafique.
Around midnight, Shafique walked into the Nagpada police station and told the officers that he was kidnapped by unidentified people from outside Byculla station in the afternoon.
He told the officers that the kidnappers blindfolded him and threw him out of a moving vehicle in Byculla around midnight.
The officers saw holes in Shafique's story and handed him to the V B Nagar police for further probe.
Senior inspector Arunkumar Aaigal said Shafique had failed to clear his Std XII exams. "Mustaq, who runs a butcher shop in Kurla (W), then got him admitted to the college to reappear for the exams," Aaigal said.
"But Shafique bunked classes to hang out with his friends. On Friday, Mustaq learnt about this and scolded Shafique over the phone. Realizing that he would have to face his father's wrath when he returned home, Shafique came up with the kidnapping plan," said Aaigal. "No case has been registered ," said sub-inspector Arjun Sawant.