Odisha Police Rescue Kidnapped 17-Year-Old, Arrest Six Engineering Students

A 17-year-old boy who was allegedly kidnapped for ransom in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar was rescued within hours by police, leading to the arrest of six engineering students involved in the crime, officials said on Thursday.

According to police, the incident took place on Wednesday evening around 6:30 pm near Kalinga Nagar Square under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur police station. The accused allegedly abducted the teenager in a four-wheeler from an isolated area before taking him to another location in the city.

Soon after the kidnapping, the victim’s father reportedly received a call from his son’s mobile phone. During the call, an unidentified person informed him that the boy had been kidnapped and demanded a ransom of Rs 5 lakh for his release. The caller also allegedly threatened to kill the teenager if the family failed to meet the demand.

Following the complaint, police launched an intensive investigation and formed multiple special teams to trace the accused and rescue the victim. Officials said both technical surveillance and human intelligence were used during the operation.

The police later tracked the accused to an isolated place in the VSS Nagar area and successfully rescued the boy at around 9:20 pm, barely a few hours after the abduction. The victim was found safe during the rescue operation.

All six accused persons, identified as engineering students, were arrested in connection with the case. Police also seized the four-wheeler allegedly used in the kidnapping, two scooters, five mobile phones, a knife, and a wooden stick from their possession.

Officials said further investigation is underway to determine the motive behind the crime and whether the accused were involved in any similar incidents earlier.