Deekshith D V
Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady
Beltangady, Dec 20: What was supposed to be an enjoyable evening walk with his eight-year-old grandson turned into A K Shivan's worst nightmare. On the evening of December 17, four abductors who came in a white Indica car kidnapped Anubhav, while he was returning home with his grandfather from a walk in Ujire. Two unidentified men who were waiting outside the compound gate, forced the boy into the backseat of the car and drove away at high speed. Though Shivan made an attempt to stop the car and the abductors from kidnapping Anubhav, he could not. Shivan, a retired chief petty officer of the Indian Navy, and his family spent the next couple of days in great anxiety.
Thanks to the alert police who swung into action, the boy was traced to Kolar and the abductors were arrested in no time. However, the ordeal that the family had to go through is something they will never forget.
Speaking to daijiworld, Shivan recalled the moment the nightmare started: "Initially, when one of the abductors made an effort to grab the boy, he escaped, but as he was small, he could not escape quickly. When I rushed towards the car and tried to open the door they hurriedly drove towards Charmadi road. People who were around were shocked at what happened, and soon several youths tried to chase the vehicle. Some of them contacted the police and their senior officers. Within a few minutes police rushed to the spot. The swift action by the police in tracing my grandson and rescuing him is really commendable."
The boy, Anubhav, is the youngest son of Bijoy, an entrepreneur in Ujire, and Saritha. The incident took place just a few steps away from Saritha, and even though shaken by the abduction of her son, she collected herself and called her husband and informed about the incident. Soon after the incident, hundreds of youth gathered at the spot and began a search for the abductors.
"With a few minutes left to shut my hardware shop, I received a call from my wife, followed by my father, about the incident. I immediately called my friend Joseph asking him to try and stop the vehicle near Charmadi. I was shocked because I had no enemies and I never hated anyone who would kidnap my son. Within twenty minutes my wife received a call (location Hassan) demanding ransom," said Bijoy.
"The caller spoke in Hindi, and the communication was not clear. The first call ended abruptly, the second call was picked by the police officer but there was no proper response. In the third call, the person demanded ransom. When I asked how much we needed to pay, he demanded 100 bitcoins," said Saritha.
"As my wife's phone's battery was dying, I asked the ransomer to contact my number. He was adamantly demanding money only through the form of digital currency. And he was not ready to accept any other form of transaction or cash payment. Every half-an-hour he sent messages on WhatApp. The message was in Hindi using the English alphabet," Bijoy added.
The abductors had done their homework very well, keeping an eye on the family for days. According to sources, in the first month of December, a rickshaw driver in the town received a photo of Bijoy, asking him whether he knew him. Bijoy said that as of now he does not have bitcoins and now he is not in the business of digital currency. "In 2016, I sold all the bitcoins that I had. It was not legal in India then and its market value was slumping, so I decided to sell. I was also into network marketing."
On how his son Anubhav was treated by the abductors, Bijoy said, "He is brave and he is friendly to all. Hence, it became easy for kidnapers. Though on the first day he did not eat any food, on the second day, he was provided chicken curry and rice. Later he was given a mobile phone to play with. When I asked one of the abductors about the condition of my son and asked him to send a photo, he did so. But when I asked him to send a video, he refused. On December 18 I received a photograph of my son."
"After forcing my son inside the car, they asked him to remain silent and covered his mouth. They told him that he was being taken to his father to give him a surprise. Hence, he remained silent," added Saritha.
Needless to say, the relief they felt at seeing their son alive and well was truly great. "When we reached Malur taluk's Masthi police station and saw him (their son) I could not control my emotions. He told me not to cry. We have seen such things happen only in movies. When such things (abduction) happen in real life, it is horrible. I really thank the police department and people in the town for their concern for my family during this time of distress," said Saritha.
Soon after the abduction, DySP Valentine D'Souza, under the guidance of Dakshina Kannada SP B M Lakshmi Prasad, formed four teams including inspectors Cheluvaraj, Sandesh and Ravi, PSIs Nandakumar, Irrayya, Kumar and Pawan, Kumar Kamble. They travelled to Hassan, Bengaluru, Mudigere and finally to Madhugiri, where they got a lead through which they came to know about some connection to Bengaluru and Mandya. They later received information about the abductors travelling to Kolar and with the help of local police, the accused were traced and arrested within 48 hours and the boy handed over to his parents.
Why Bitcoins?
According to a national daily, the transactions made using cryptocurrency are completely anonymous. Whenever customers trade in bitcoin, a private key associated with their wallet is used to generate a bit of code. That code is publicly associated with customer transactions but with no personal identifying information. Experts say that one of the probable reasons why hackers or criminals choose bitcoin as a form of payment is it protects identity.
According to sources, the abductor who demanded 100 bitcoins gradually reduced his demand and finally settled his demand only for 2 bitcoins.