The fear of being reprimanded for losing his bicycle led 20-year-old Kiran Patil to stage his own kidnap and demand a ransom of Rs 25 lakh while 30-odd policemen scoured the entire city for him. The drama unfolded yesterday when the Airport police nabbed Kiran near Pulachi Wadi in Deccan, where he had come to collect the ransom amount of Rs 25 lakh.u00a0


Attempt Foiled: The police nabbed Kiran Patil near Pulachi Wadi,
where he had come to collect the ransom

Kiran's cycle was reportedlyu00a0 stolen from his college premises on Monday, after which he skillfully altered his voice and called his maternal uncle Uttam Patil, demanding the money.


Kiran's uncle Uttam Patil. Pics/Krunal Gosavi

Kiran was staying with hisu00a0 uncle at Krishna Kripa Apartment in Dhanori in order to pursue his education.
He is a diploma engineering student, who failed in his examination last year, and was appearing for supplementary exams to clear his papers.

According to his uncle Uttam, Kiran left home on Monday morning claiming that he had to collect his hall ticket. "But around 2 pm he messaged me that he would be coming late since his cycle got punctured. After he failed to return home, I began searching for him," he said.u00a0

According to the police, Kiran sent two text messages pretending to be sent by the kidnappers to frighten Uttam. Acting on this, Uttam rushed to the Airport police station to register a complaint. When he was at the police station he received another call asking him to come to Pulachi Wadi with Rs 25 lakh if he wanted his nephew safe and sound.