New Delhi: A supposed kidnapping case involving two 11-year-old boys in Abbbinahole village near Imangala in Karnataka’s Chitradurga took a dramatic turn after truth came to fore that the abduction was fabricated by the boys to escape punishment for incomplete homework.
The boys were allegedly inspired by stories of crime and abductions on social media, according to a Times of India report. “This is a classic example of the adverse effects of unfiltered content on young minds. They used what they’d read online to create a plausible story,” the report quoted an investigating officer as saying.
Police swung into action after kidnapping tale
The police led by Chitradurga Superintendent of Police (SP) Ranjit Kumar Bandaru swung into action after they received an alarming call that two schoolboys had narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt. The boys, who returned home without their schoolbags around 10am, claimed they were abducted by three masked men in a white Maruti Omni van.
According to them, the kidnappers sprayed a mysterious liquid on their faces, rendering them unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, they overheard the men saying in Hindi, “Yeh woh bachhe nahi hai” (These kids are not them), before being abandoned by the roadside.
Police file ‘B’ report
Fearing a larger criminal plot, SP Bandaru constituted multiple teams to trace the alleged kidnappers and the van. Bandaru grew sceptical after speaking with the boys’ schoolteachers, who described them as mischievous and often negligent with their homework. “By then, teams dispatched to trace the kidnappers reported no evidence of a Maruti Omni in the area. Furthermore, CCTV footage from the purported abduction site showed no signs of such an incident,” Bandaru explained.
Upon questioning the boys separately, the cops found further contradictions. With the help of their teacher, police reassured the boys of no punishment for telling the truth. The boys then admitted fabricating the kidnapping story to avoid reprimand for not doing their homework.
Police have decided to file a ‘B’ report, officially closing the case as a false complaint.
