Lucknow: Police on Sunday traced a 17-year-old NEET aspirant from Sonepat in Haryana, who had allegedly staged his own abduction to extort Rs 5 lakh from his family to fund outings with his girlfriend and clear online gaming debts.The teenager, a resident of the Para area, was found safe within 48 hours of the complaint being filed. Investigators later found that he had allegedly fabricated the kidnapping plot.According to DCP (West) Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, the boy had been staying in a rented room and attending coaching classes in Alambagh while preparing for NEET. He had earlier lived with his uncle but was asked to move out following repeated disputes over his online gaming habits and mounting debts.The teenager went missing on Oct 20, prompting his family to search for him. After they failed to locate him, a missing-person complaint was filed at Para police station on Oct 22.The case took a dramatic turn when the boy’s parents, brother and maternal uncle began receiving WhatsApp messages demanding Rs 5 lakh for his release. The messages threatened to kill him if the ransom was not paid. In one message, the family was told to search for his body in the forests of Chennai, triggering panic among relatives.Following the ransom threats, police activated surveillance and cyber-tracking teams. Investigators analysed digital evidence and eventually traced the teenager through an online payment trail.Police said the boy had switched off his phone after disappearing and later used another person’s mobile hotspot to send ransom messages and make WhatsApp calls while posing as a kidnapper. To make the story appear genuine, he also contacted a cousin, claiming he was stranded, did not know where he was and lacked money even for food. He then persuaded her to transfer Rs 2,000 using a QR code he shared.That transaction proved to be the breakthrough. Using the payment details and other digital leads, the surveillance team tracked down the teenager, who was found staying with his girlfriend, police said.“During questioning, he allegedly admitted that no kidnapping had taken place and that he had orchestrated the entire drama himself. Police have initiated legal action against him for allegedly misleading investigators, creating panic and spreading false information,” DCP Srivastava said.
