Ransom paid, kidnappers release Bandra school boy

A 12-year-old school boy who was kidnapped from near his Bandra school on Monday, was finally released on Wednesday. The accused are yet to be arrested and the police is in the process of tracing them.

According to sources, Eric Fernandes, a Class 7 student of Saint Andrew's School in Bandra, left for school from his Bandra residence at around 7.30am.  While on his way, he was allegedly kidnapped by two men in an Indica car. Around two hours later, his father, an interior decorator, received a phone call. The caller claimed that he had suffered a loss in business due to the victim's father and demanded Rs10 lakh for his son to be returned safely.

The police instructed the father to ask the accused to lower the ransom amount. Sources said that the ransom amount was finally fixed at Rs5 lakh. However, the accused kept changing their mind on where the victim's father had to come to deliver the ransom, keeping the police in the dark about their location. Finally, the father was asked to catch a train from Bandra towards Virar and throw the ransom amount on the tracks when he saw a torchlight being flashed.

Even though he had the police in plainclothes with him, the victim's father began to get apprehensive about the safety of his son and did as he was instructed. Sources said the boy was finally released near Bandra-Kurla Complex in Bandra.

They added that the boy is still in a state of shock and has been unable to help the police regarding the details of where he was taken and who his kidnappers were.