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NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 2:

        The recent kidnapping incidents reported in this metropolis have sent a wave of panic and horror among parents.

        In two of such cases on 26 September (Alexander, aged 10, from Shastri Nagar) and mid- December (Arvind (11) from Virugambakkam), it is either the relatives or neighbours who had been the mastermind behind the kidnap. The case of a four- year- old boy at Manali is no different. The kidnapped boy who returned home safely yesterday is said to have revealed the name of the one of kidnappers. He has said three persons took him in a car around the city and that he can identify the culprits.

        The boy Vimal, son of a pawn broker at Kamarajar Nagar, Manali, went missing while playing with his friends near his house on Tuesday.

        On realising that his son was missing, his father Tanaram and mother Jakri filed a complaint with police immediately and yesterday afternoon they received a ransom call demanding Rs five lakh.

        Later, the boy who was left behind by the kidnappers at a spot near Manali Industrial Estate. The boy had narrated the sequence of incidents to the police yesterday.

        It is learnt that Vimal has said that he and his brother were offered chocolate while they were playing in the ground. After watching them for sometime in the late evening, the gang took him to a nearby place and offered him a cake to eat before they abducted him.

        Preliminary investigations revealed that two days prior to the kidnap of Vimal, two persons had enquired him about the boy's father as to when he (father) would return home. The abductors called eight times from different PCOs in north Chennai to demand the ransom.

        The last call was reported to be made to the residence of Tanaram's

        landlord asking the boy's parents to come to Gummidipoondi. However realising the danger of getting caught, the kidnappers changed the rendezvous three times. The second spot was Ponneri Railway station and third Minjur Railway Station.

        Vimal's parents along with few of his relatives went to the spot but in vain as none was spotted at the station. Police traced the last call that was made last night to Gummidipoondi. Based on certain clues from the calls, special police teams with two Assistant Commissioners and five inspectors went to a particular residential area in north Chennai and started door-to-door combing operations. Following this intense operation, the abductors released the boy at an isolated spot near Manali Industrial estate with his legs tied and he was brought home by a passer-by, police said.

        Police was questioning the boy to identify the kidnappers and to find the motive behind the kidnap.

        Meanwhile Deputy Commissioner Kannappan said they had received valid information from the boy and the teams were operating in full swing to catch the culprits.