Early Times Report
Jammu, May 7: The alleged abduction of a Class 5th student of Army School, Kaluchak by some unidentified men has sent shock waves through the Jammu, with many people wondering whether the winter capital of the state is fast becoming another Bihar or Uttar Pradesh where crime appears to be the order of the day.
On Monday, the police said a complaint was lodged by a retired Captain of Army, Joginder Sharma, who alleged that his son, Anirudh Sharma, studying in Class 5 of Army School, Kaluchak was kidnapped by some unidentified men while he was returning from the school. He said some passersby also saw the boy being kidnapped in a red colour van.
"In exchange for my son, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore on telephone," Joginder Sharma told the police. Following the complaint, police has registered an FIR and started investigations.
The alleged abduction of the kid has, expectedly, sparked shock and anger among the Jammuites. Many people who spoke to Early Times said that it's no secret that the well-off families of Jammu do not want their children to stay in the city.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to do business or send children to schools and colleges in Jammu. If the pace with which the incidents of crime go on, we will soon witness Jammu replacing Bihar as the most dangerous place to live in," said a top businessman from Gandhi Nagar, wishing not to be named.
He said even for getting a genuine job done, one has to grease the palms of the 'every-hungry police and bureaucrats.'
He added: "The police and bureaucracy operate like a mafia in the city. Many officers are more concerned about earning fast bucks, no matter how they come. With the result, the incidents of crime have seen a sharp and an unprecedented surge in the recent past."
"The abduction of the retired army officer's son in broad daylight lends credence to the apprehensions that nobody is safe in the city. Anybody can come and abduct you or your child," said another businessman, a jewellery dealer.
Meanwhile, police is trying to ascertain the identity of the kidnappers by scrutinising call details of Joginder Sharma. An alert has also been sounded in all the respective police stations. Besides, police has also flashed the details of the kidnapped boy to police checkpoints in Punjab.
Police added that four police teams led by SDPO DySP Sunil Kesar have been constituted and rushed to Punjab, Delhi, Kashmir and Jammu.
"We are on job and trying our best to trace out the kidnappers," the police said. "The matter is being investigated and the case will soon be cracked."
According to reports, the family members have received phone calls from the kidnapers, who demanded a ransom of Rs one crore rupees for release of their son. "Several teams of police rushed at various places inside and outside the state, but there was no breakthrough in the case", sources said and added that police have zero downed some suspects, it might be helpful to trace the missing Anirudh Sharma."
Anirudh was abducted just few hundred meters away from his home, and the family members have identified some suspected people, who have a feud with them in past.
However, BariBrahmana Police is tight-lipped over the issue, Police had constituted four separate teams. These were rushed to Kashmir, Jammu, Punjab and Delhi. "Two of them returned empty hands from Delhi and Punjab, while other two engaged with in the state have not achieved anything yet", sources added. |
