BENGALURU: The 19-year-old son of an Income Tax officer was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified persons on Tuesday night. Sharath’s parents informed police about the abduction when they received a video clip of him saying he had been kidnapped and his abductors were demanding a ransom of `50 lakh. City Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar said four teams had been formed to trace Sharath.
According to police, Sharath is the son of Niranjan Kumar, an Income Tax officer. He is a second-year student of diploma in automobile engineering at Acharya College on Hesarghatta Road. The family resides on Ullala Main Road.
Sharath’s parents had recently purchased a motorcycle for him. Around 6.30pm on Tuesday, he left for Rajarajeshwari Nagar telling his parents that he wanted to show his new motorcycle to his friends. He has been missing since then. According to police, none of Sharath’s friends had met him on Tuesday evening.
Police said as the motorcycle was brand new, the registration process was not completed and had a temporary registration number, which the police are trying to trace. Police said they were informed on Tuesday about the abduction when his parents received the video clip on WhatsApp around 8.30pm.
In the video, Sharath is seen telling his father that people who have suffered because of him (the father) have abducted him. He adds that the abductors are torturing him and have demanded `50 lakh to free him. He further says that they would get a call the next day.
However, police said no such call had been received by his parents. They said the video was recorded inside a car and added that there no visible signs of injury on him in the video.Jnana Bharathi police have registered a case and are investigating.
Transcript of video message
“Hello Father. People who have suffered at your hands have kidnapped me. They want `50 lakh. They will call tomorrow and they are severely torturing me. Please somehow get it (the money). Please. Please arrange it as soon as possible, until then I will be with them.”