The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : The risks of lending a mobile phone

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Tuesday, Feb 17, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

The risks of lending a mobile phone

M. Srinivas

Chennai police arrest a person in city for his alleged role in schoolboy’s kidnap

Accused uses his friend’s mobile to make ransom calls to Chennai
Police trace call details and find SIM to be in name of D.P. Ramesh of Bodduppal

HYDERABAD: Are your friends and colleagues frequently making calls from your mobile phone or using your handset by changing SIM cards? In future it would do you good to turn down their request, else it may spell trouble and even land you in jail.

In a recent case of a schoolboy’s kidnap, a 46-year-old man landed in trouble after his former colleague used his mobile phone to make ransom calls to Chennai.

The police traced call details and found that the SIM card was obtained in the name of D.P. Ramesh of Bodduppal. After inquiring with local residents, the Chennai police with help from counterparts in Cyberabad took Ramesh into custody and interrogated him.

Goes missing

Ramesh, however, clarified that a former colleague Prabhakar alias Prabhu took his mobile phone and Honda Activa scooter in a bar at Balanagar on Wednesday last on the pretext of getting money from his brother to repay a Rs.20,000 loan and went missing. A complaint was lodged in Balanagar police station the same day, he said.

Police officials continued to track the call details. They even suggested the family members of the boy, Raj Kumar, to obey the kidnapper Prabhu’s orders and pay at least Rs.25,000 when he demanded a ransom of Rs.50,000. He also directed the family to deposit the amount in a bank at Ferozguda near Balanagar.

After confirming that the cash was deposited, Prabhu left the boy in Chennai on Sunday evening and fled even as a manhunt to nab him in Hyderabad was on.

Inspector Raja Robert from Chennai said that Prabhu kidnapped his eight-year-old nephew in Chennai on February 10 for want of money.

“The kidnapper is still absconding,” he said.

Uppal Inspector B. Bhaskar said Prabhu and Ramesh earlier worked in Reliance bar-cum-restaurant at Nagole crossroads.

On Wednesday, he asked Ramesh to meet him in a bar at Balanagar for repaying the loan amount and disappeared after taking his mobile phone and bike.

“Ramesh’s role has been ruled out,” he added.

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