Police on Saturday stepped up the hunt for the three remaining accused in the sensational Noida kidnapping case, a day after three-year-old Anant Gupta returned under mysterious circumstances and one person was arrested.
Raids are being conducted at several places in western Uttar Pradesh and police have detained some people for questioning to crack the case even though there are loose ends that remain untied.
"We are on the job. We are questioning several people and hope to arrest Chatrapal, Vijay Chouhan and Pawan, who were part of the kidnapping episode, soon," Senior Superintendent of Police (Noida) R K S Rathore told PTI.
Police had late on Friday night claimed to have recovered Rs 47.5 lakh ransom amount given by Anant's family for his safe release from the residence of Jitendra, who was arrested on Friday, in Kakod village of Bulandshahar district.
The seizure quashed the claims of Anant's father Naresh Gupta, CEO of Adobe India, during the day that he had not paid ransom despite receiving 10-15 calls demanding Rs 60 lakh for the boy's release.
Rathore said the transaction was made without the knowledge of police though late on Friday night Gupta admitted paying the ransom as part of a "strategy" to ensure that the child comes out safely.
The boy, who had caught the nation's imagination after his abduction by two motorcycle-borne youths outside his residence in a posh locality of the township on Monday morning, was brought home a little before noon on Friday in an autorickshaw by a policeman.
Police said he was traced near Kakod police station area near the Noida-Bulandshahar border.
