Cops act swiftly, rescue kidnapped boy from Khapa

By Dheeraj Fartode

First came the tears, then the exhaustion. 

This is how 14-year-old Chaitanya Ashtankar reacted after the cops reunited him with his family well past midnight. He had survived a nightmare of his life, since he was kidnapped from Manish Nagar on Thursday. There were people, mediamen, cops. Everyone trying to ask or tell something. But, the feeling of relief from a nightmare was so heavy on Chaitanya that he went straight to sleep, to get some rest, to have some time with himself, and to be ‘at home’. 

On Friday, after kidnappers called Chaitanya’s parents and demanded ransom, the cops got what they were waiting for. Acting swiftly, they traced the call and rescued Chaitanya from the residence of a girl known to one of the kidnappers in Badegaon village in Khapa tehsil under the jurisdiction of Nagpur Rural Police. 

One wrong step by the kidnappers was all that the City Police were waiting for desperately ever since the abduction of Chaitanya Ashtankar. Kidnappers called up Chaitanya’s father Subhash on Friday. The caller demanded Rs 50 lakh ransom for releasing Chaitanya. This proved to be the much-needed breakthrough for cops. Acting fast, within 12 hours, cops got to the kidnappers and rescued the teenager safely.  

When the team of City Police reached him from the hideout of his kidnappers, Chaitanya looked totally bewildered and was frightened to the core. The site where the boy was kept by kidnappers, is located in remote forest area on Khapa-Saoner route. The teenager was rescued around 11 pm when the police circled the hideout and nabbed the kidnappers, two of them from the place. 

Pradeep Ninave is the prime accused in the case. The police said that he was a tenant at Ashtankar house in Khapa, which Ashtankar had sold recently. Ninave knew that Ashtankar family was cash-rich and hence he hatched the plot to abduct Chaitanya and get ransom from his father. He allegedly hired three person namely Ezaz Israel Sheikh (36), Qayyub Sheikh (30), Durwas Bhagwat Kohad (30), all hailing from Khapa. As per the preliminary reports, the plan to abduct the teenager was in the offing for last four to five months. 

The cops had speculated role of aperson knowing Ashtankar family well. And, it proved to be true, as Ninave was the mastermind of the plot. The police pieced together the puzzle wherein the person knowing Ashtankar family was trying to get fast cash from them. As planned on Thursday, the gang came in a rented four-wheeler, belonging to someone from Khapa, and dragged in Chaitanya who was heading towards home after being dropped by school bus on main road near his house in Manish Nagar. 

The gang waited for a while before making its move as the members first gauged the reaction of police. Finally, greed prevailed and the gang leader made the call to Chaitanya’s father. And, this call sealed the kidnappers’ fate. Soon after Subhash Ashtankar received the call, cops started tracing the call location. The call also provided clarity regarding motive behind the abduction. The leads provided by Ashtankar family members, who were asked by police to remember even the minutest details of any past trouble from any relative or person close to them, also proved important. Chaitanya was rescued from the residence of a girl known to Ezaz Sheikh in Badegaon village of Khapa tehsil. 

A team led by Ishu Sindhu, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-IV); Shailesh Balkawde, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I), co-ordinated the entire operation. Dr Aarti Singh, Superintendent of Police (Nagpur Rural), also was keeping tab and had put police machinery under her command into action. 

A team of Chandrashekhar Dhole, Police Inspector (Crime Branch); Arun Jagtap, Inspector of Sonegaon Police Station; and DB Squad, Khapa PSO API Anil Mandve, ASI Ram Asre Mishra rescued the child. S P Yadav, Commissioner of Police, was in Pune but was constantly monitoring the entire operation by being in touch with Rajvardhan, Joint Commissioner of Police, who was in command of investigations and co-ordination. 

In fact, entire Nagpur Police, including Nagpur Rural Police, were on high alert and constantly exchanging information as it was suspected that Chaitanya Ashtankar was kept in hiding in Nagpur district only. Since the four-wheeler mentioned in case was not seen anywhere at any of the toll-posts outside Nagpur, the police were now firm that the teenager was somewhere in the district. 

Praveen Dixit, Director General of Police, also was monitoring the situation closely. He was constantly getting feedback about the clues that City Police got and what angles they were pursuing. Not only the Guardian Minister but the people in Manish Nagar area who had gathered at Ashtankars’ house, also appreciated the cops and felicitated them. Overwhelmed by the appreciation, the cops re-assured the Ashtankar family that they were with it. 

Bawankule lauds cops for fast action

Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Guardian Minister of district, also was keeping track of the developments in the case. As soon as the cops informed him that they had rescued Chaitanya, Bawankule rushed to Ashtankars’ house in Manish Nagar. He re-assured the family, and also lauded the cops for swift action.