A youth from Solan town of Himachal Pradesh allegedly attempted to extort money from his family by orchestrating his own kidnapping. The scheme, however, proved short-lived as the police swiftly traced and arrested him in Haryana.
The incident came to light when Abhay Goyal, a resident of Kathed Bypass, reported to the police that he received a WhatsApp message from his brother Aman’s phone on June 23. The message, sent to Abhay’s friend’s mobile number, ominously stated that Aman was with the sender and that further instructions would follow within an hour, demanding a ransom of Rs 1 lakh.
Accompanying the message was a photo of Aman appearing unconscious.
Aman, who runs a bakery, had left home alone to attend the Shoolini fair but did not return, raising alarm among his family members. Leveraging mobile location data and CCTV footage, the police traced Aman’s whereabouts and found him alone on a road near a gurdwara at Shahpur in Haryana.
During interrogation, Aman admitted to fabricating the kidnapping. He revealed that frustrations with his bakery business and recent conflicts with his family, combined with an urgent need for money, led him to concoct the plan. He detailed how he travelled alone by bus to Kalka, where he staged a selfie in a bus stand washroom to appear unconscious.
He then sent this photo to his brother from his own phone before continuing his journey to Shahpur.
Solan Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh confirmed the findings. “From the investigation so far, it has been found that Aman concocted the story to get Rs 1 lakh from his family. Action will be taken against him as per law,” he said.
