A six-year-old Mumbai boy whose kidnapping 14 days ago had become a Facebook story,with his father using the social networking site to help find him,was rescued from Allahabad in a joint police operation early on Wednesday and reunited with his parents. Karnit Shah was rescued in a joint operation by teams of the Mumbai Crime Branch,UP Anti-Terrorist Squad and the Allahabad police. The masterminds of the kidnapping,according to Mumbai Police,were the owner and employees of a confectionary shop near Karnits home in Kandivli. The police arrested Sujit Bind,an employee of the confectionary shop,who had carried out the kidnapping with the other accused. A ransom call he had made from a PCO to Karnits family and cellphone calls to his accomplices in Mumbai helped the police track him down. Mumbai police officials said a ransom call demanding Rs 1 crore had been made two days ago. Sujit is a native of Chhanaura village in Durgaganj police station area of Bhadohi district,but was staying at his brother-in-law Ramashanker Binds place in Handiya area with the boy since April 8. He told Ramashanker that the child was his employers son and had come to stay with him for a few days. After Sujits interrogation,the owner of the shop Sohanlal Gupta and employees Sandip and Samir Khan were arrested in Mumbai. One unidentified accused is still absconding. Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik said when Karnits parents did not receive any ransom call for more than 10 days after the kidnapping on April 6,the motive remained unclear. Two days ago,the kidnappers made their first call and sought a ransom of Rs 1 crore, said Patnaik. Officers said they tracked the accused through their mobile phone locations. Around 3 am on Wednesday,the joint team raided the house where the boy had been kept and rescued him. According to the police,Sandip and Samir,who worked as delivery boys at Guptas shop,allegedly kept a watch on the children of the society where Karnit lived. Gupta was himself part of the conspiracy,they said. The two befriended Karnit and his friends by giving them chocolates and cricket balls over a few days. On April 6,the two saw Karnit away from his friends and lured him away with chocolates. Later,one of the two along with Sujit took Karnit on a motorcycle to Nashik,from where Sujit took the boy to Allahabad on a train. Following the kidnapping,Karnit father Anand Shah,a stock broker,had posted his sons photo in an attempt to trace him. This post,which recieved more than 3,000 comments in just a few days,had turned into an online campaign with thousands sharing the information about the missing boy on their Facebook wall. After the child was flown back to Mumbai,Police Commissioner Patnaik said it was an emotional day for the police as well as the citizens of Mumbai. It is a celebration as we were able to bring Karnit home safe. I wanted to receive Karnit in the VIP lounge where all dignitaries are received at the Mumbai airport because Karnit is no less than a VIP for us. We are just grateful to God for bringing Karnit home safely, said Anand Shah.
