A 16-year-old boy in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur allegedly staged his own kidnapping after losing nearly ₹ 3 lakh in online games and sent his father an AI-generated image to make the abduction appear genuine, police said on Thursday.
Police trace teenager to friend’s house
Concerned about his son’s safety, the father contacted the police. This led to an immediate investigation. When they began asking him to repay the money, he allegedly planned the fake kidnapping to get cash from his family. He later connected the device to a friend’s Wi-Fi network and sent the ransom message. Police placed the mobile number under surveillance and traced its location to Sikriganj. Police are now investigating the involvement of other people who may have helped him in carrying out the plan.
A police team reached the area at around 2 am and found the teenager at a friend’s house.
Police said the teenager, whose father is a cloth merchant in Sant Kabir Nagar, borrowed money from friends and others to fund his online gaming. On Tuesday evening, he left home telling his family that he was going to Sikriganj and put his phone on flight mode.
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The girl later admitted that she had planned the fake abduction to escape restrictions at home. She had even broken open her piggy bank to rent a room where she planned to live alone for a month. Police reunited her with her family after confirming that she had written the ransom note herself.
