The Hindu : Front Page : Adobe executive's son abducted from Noida

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 14, 2006
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Adobe executive's son abducted from Noida

Devesh K. Pandey

Three-year-old kidnapped from posh locality in broad daylight

NOIDA: Two unidentified motorcycle borne men abducted the three-year-old son of Adobe senior vice-president Naresh Gupta from near his posh Sector 15-A residence in broad daylight here on Monday.

The sector, which is barely a few hundred metres from the Delhi border, is home to a number of Supreme Court and Delhi High Court judges, senior lawyers, top executives and businessmen.

The incident took place around 8.30 a.m. Anant Gupta, a pre-nursery student of Lotus Valley School was waiting for his school bus with his maid Asha, when two men on a motorcycle approached them. While the driver was wearing a helmet, the pillion rider had his face masked. The motorcycle stopped by the boy, who was picked up by the pillion rider, and sped off. Private security guards deployed in the area and passers-by rushed to the spot on hearing Asha's screams, but by then the culprits had fled.

The Noida police were subsequently informed. However, the police were unable to locate the motorcycle quickly as its number plate was twisted and no one was able to note down the registration number. A number of raiding teams have been formed by Noida police to conduct search operations. The Special Cell of Delhi police has also joined in the investigations. The incident is being probed at the highest level as it has sent a shock wave through the entire corporate sector in the region. At the time of the incident, Mr. Gupta was in the United States. His wife Nidhi was home.

The police claimed they were looking for concrete clues, and were tight-lipped on whether a ransom call was received. The boy's family has denied personal enmity as the reason behind the crime.

From the manner of its execution, the police suspect that professional criminals may have been behind the abduction. "They must have conducted a reconnaissance of the area and kept an eye on the daily routine of the child before committing the crime," said a police officer.

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