The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Secrecy, speed important in tackling kidnap cases’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 16, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka

‘Secrecy, speed important in tackling kidnap cases’

Police officials feel that media cooperation is a must for successful rescue operations, writes K.V. Subramanya

The north division police on Thursday did a commendable job by rescuing five-year-old Chandan who was kidnapped from near his house in Mathikere on Monday.

The kidnapper, Sanjay of Kolkata, had demanded a ransom of Rs. 25,000 from Chandan’s father and threatened to kill the boy if the police were approached. Before something untoward happened, the police rescued Chandan and put him back in his pare nts’ arms.

However, all such incidents have not ended on a happy note. Every time a kidnapped child is rescued by the police, it reminds one of the kidnap and grisly murder of Prem Kumar. Though seven years have gone by, the police have not been able to trace those who had kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Prem, the only son of Alagarani and Govinda Shekar, who was then employed abroad.

Son missing

It was on December 31, 2001, Prem was kidnapped from Ramamurthynagar police station limits. Around 11.45 a.m. on that day, Prem left his Dasappa Layout house on his bicycle to buy chocolates. When he did not return till afternoon, Alagarani lodged a complaint with the police that her son was missing.

Towards evening she received a telephone call that Prem has been kidnapped and taken to Hosur in Tamil Nadu. A kidnapper demanded a ransom of Rs. 20 lakh. But, he did not specify where and when the money has to be paid.

The kidnappers did not make any phone calls or contact Alagarani for the next two days. On the night of January 2, 2002, they telephoned Alagarani to check whether she had arranged the money. They also set a two-day deadline for paying the ransom and told her that they would contact her again.

Body floating

Even as the police were searching for clues, Prem’s body was found floating in the Horamavu tank on January 10. The police suspected that the kidnappers could have murdered him three or four days earlier as the body was highly decomposed. The killers are still at large. The police say that they had to close the case as there were hardly any clues.

After Prem’s murder, senior police officials had said that “secrecy and speed” were important in rescuing the hostage in a kidnapping case. Utmost care should be taken to ensure that the abductors did not get scent of the police operation.

Media cooperation

The officials had felt that cooperation from media was necessary in maintaining secrecy as criminals get alerted by news reports. Despite many appeals by the police not to publish reports on Prem’s kidnapping, a section of the media had highlighted the incident. The kidnappers, who apparently got wind of the police action, killed the boy fearing that they would be caught. At least some efforts could have been made to rescue the boy.

In the latest incident, the police had taken enough care and ensured that the media did not get much information about Chandan’s kidnapping until he was rescued.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka