Man Abducts 3-Year-Old Son, Demands Ransom From Wife To Clear His Debts

A man has kidnapped his 3-year-old son and demanded a ransom from his wife by threatening to kill the child. Police rescued the boy and arrested the father Saturday.

The man, identified as 32-year-old Palnati Ramakrishna, has been accused of kidnapping his own son and demanding money from his wife to pay off his debts, Times Now News reported.

The father was a software engineer in Hyderabad, a city in the southern Indian state of Telangana. He was working from his home due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Ramakrishna was reportedly addicted to alcohol and gambling. He had borrowed around $26,900 (INR 20,00,000) from some money lenders but could not repay it.

On July 28, Ramakrishna reached home in an inebriated state and forcibly took the child away from his wife. He later called her on phone and demanded money to safely return the boy. He threatened to lethally poison the boy and kill himself if she didn't pay the ransom, The New Indian Express reported.

The child's mother reported the incident to the police. Officers traced Ramakrishna to a lodge about 20 miles away from the couple's home. He was reportedly drunk and found sleeping next to the child. Ramakrishna was arrested and the child was safely returned to his mother Saturday, police said.

Last month, a domestic help in New Delhi was arrested for kidnapping her employer's 3-year-old daughter after an argument over her salary. The 23-year-old woman abducted the child while the mother was at work and demanded $560 to safely return the child. She also reportedly threatened to kill the child. Police rescued the child and charged the woman with kidnapping for ransom.