The patent story of runaway boys

THE 12-year-old boy who claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers thought he had a foolproof story. But the police knew that it was the patent tale of most runaway teenagers who return home after encountering the reality of the world.

I was serving as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in Vadodara city in September 1995. We had barely solved the sensational kidnapping for ransom of the six-year-old son of a cardiologist when the above incident was reported.

The victim had gone to school on a bicycle but had not returned home from after the classes ended. In the late afternoon, the Vadodara police control room received information that the boy had been found at Karjan railway station — 40 km south of Vadodara. He had approached a constable on duty at the railway platform for help. He told the cop that four masked men had kidnapped him and boarded a train, but when it halted at Karjan, he had dodged them and escaped.

On being brought back to Vadodara, the boy gave us the details: after school, he was cycling back home when the masked men pulled him into an autorickshaw and put a handkerchief smelling of some chemical over his mouth, after which he passed out. When he regained consciousness, he was on a train. We knew the rest of the story. He said he could not identify his kidnappers because they were wearing masks.

But there were two holes in his story — his bike had been found parked at the cycle stand of the railway station and the constable from Karjan said the boy had not come to him running but had approached him calmly.

My officers were sure that the story was false but could not get the boy to tell the truth. So, I called his father, an employee of the state electricity board, and told him to try to find out what had actually happened.

The next day, the father came to my office with the boy. First, he met me alone and said the son was repeating the story. He said he, too, felt that the boy was lying but was helpless. So, I sent him out and called the boy in.

I told him, “I have not told your father as yet but we have caught your kidnappers. But they are saying that they were not wearing masks. If you identify them from among similar-looking men, we will arrest them and give you a certificate of bravery. But if you cannot, we will arrest your father for filing a false complaint.” The boy was completely puzzled.

Realising that things had gone too far, he spilled the beans and started pleading to spare his father. He said he had run away because his parents did not allow him to watch TV and pressured him to study. But once the train started moving, he panicked and got down at the next station. He had made up the story to escape punishment.