M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, July 24: The Palamu SP Chandan Kumar Sinha, who recently cracked a kidnapping case of a jeweler and his staff member, while talking to a Lagatar24.com correspondent gave out points regarding managing the situation.
Notably, the two had been abducted for a ransom of Rs 10 lakhs, however, the police were able to safely retrieve them with the help of the families of the victims, and without paying even a morsel of the large amount asked for.
The SP said, “A family that faces the abduction of a loved one must try to keep the abductor in good humour for ‘buying time’ and to help police to get ‘to know the location of the abductor’ through tracking the phones.
Q. How should a family undergoing such stress keep an abductor in good humour and how do we buy time?
A. The kidnapper will in such cases always try to hurry the family to pay up. This is also because managing a kidnapping victim may be dangerous for the kidnapper. A kidnapper invariably gives call for ransom, after which the family should play cool and keep the abductor calm and showcase that they are ready to give up whatever they are being asked for.
Prolonging a kidnapper’s call for ransom is also important. People may use several delaying tactics like, ‘You are not audible, your voice is not clear, there is a disturbance in the background.’
This is just to deceive the abductor who may end up staying longer for the police to track his phone and simultaneously his location. This is because, usually abductors, turn off the phones after making the ransom calls.
In the case of the abduction of the jeweller and his staff, the kidnapper’s call was ‘stretched’. It was so done at my behest. It was I who was tipping the family regarding what to say to the kidnapper.
Do not irritate the kidnapper; rather make him believe you are all ears to his demand.
Q. How much does family cooperation matter in dealing with the case of abduction?
A. Family co operation matters most. If the family gets tight lipped over the kidnapping then it creates too many problems for the police to go about the case.
In the case of the jeweler, the family was cooperative. The family even hinted at things that could have caused this abduction. The family also gave a free hand to police to bring back the victims alive them and assured that they would not pay.
This cooperation co operation is tremendous as it helps police to go after the case in its own professional manner.
Q. Does victim family blame police if rescue operation doesn’t go as planned?
A. The family bays for the blood of the cops if the rescue operation of the kidnapped goes upside down. Then there is the barrage of the accusations against the police for handling the case most hazardously and ineptly. The police are then backed into a corner.
It is always a tight rope walk to the police as scale of achievement may swing either to the positive or negative side.
Police sources have also claimed that there was a case of kidnapping for ransom right on the NH 98 where the kidnappers took a huge sum of money as ransom but did not release the victim and his rotting body was found later on much to the shock of all.
Q. When do abductors kill?
A. The risk of getting killed is very high where the kidnapper and the victim know each other’s strength and weakness.
In the jeweler kidnapping, the abductor knew his victims too well and vice cersa. Here the lives of the victims were most at stake.
However, our boys did well and we succeeded in finding the two and were able to get them released from captivity.
