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Three-year-old Anant Gupta, who was kidnapped from his house in sector 15 A on Monday, has been rescued and kidnappers have been arrested. This was confirmed by SSP of Gautam Budh Nagar in his conversation with the newsmen who had been camping outside the sector 15 A.
Sleuths of the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force succeeded in recovering the child from his abductors , who had kept him in a hideout on the Noida-Bulandshahr border.
"The child is absolutely safe and we delivered him to his parents around noon on Friday," a senior STF official told this scribe in New Delhi.
Naresh Gupta, CEO of Adobe India, said no ransom was paid for the release of his son, who was snatched by two motor-cycle riding youths outside his residence in posh Sector 15A on Monday morning.
The boy, a pre-nursery class student of Lotus Valley school, is "safe and healthy and is talking and behaving normally", doctors, who checked on him, said.
Anant's elder sister, a class-II student, was visibly happy to have him back. "It was very boring without him," she said.
"I don't know how he came back. I fed him sweets and I am very happy," she added.
Gupta, who came out with Anant and his wife Nidhi, thanked the STF, state administration and all others for working overtime to safely recover his son.
More details of the operation were held back by STF, whose spokesman said, "Since the operation is still on, we would not like to divulge any more details at this juncture."
Naresh Gupta, chief executive of US based multinational Abode India had appealed the kidnappers not to harm his child and take care of him. According to sources, ransom calls were received by the Gupta family.
As the news of his release spread, anxious relatives, neighbours, colleagues and a large number of mediapersons thronged the Gupta residence in posh Sector 15 in New Delhi and joined the celebrations.
Along with family members, a cheerful looking Anant waved from the terrace of his imposing bungalow to the huge crowd of people gathered outside.
Anant, who made a brief appearance in front of mediapersons with other children of his family, told reporters he was kidnapped by three persons.
Asked who had taken him, he said "Bhaiyya ne." And when asked how many, he replied "Three."
When asked about his experience, Anant said he was kept in an "open house" and had returned home in an auto.
"I was awake the whole night and when I was about to catch some sleep, I heard shouts from the house that Anant is back. I came down and saw him playing in the house. I have no idea how he was recovered," said Anant's father.
Gupta said the family had been in constant touch with the kidnappers and had received five calls in the last four days demanding Rs 60 lakh as ransom for Anant's safe release. He, however, said the family did not pay any ransom.
The boy, held by his mother, reached out for sweets that were being distributed to celebrate his home-coming. "Anant is playful, cheerful, active and is his usual self since he returned," a relieved Anant's father Naresh Gupta told reporters outside his residence.
The family also took the boy for a medical checkup. He is "fully healthy", Gupta, his father, said. "I was awake the whole night and when I was about to catch some sleep, I heard shouts from the house that Anant is back. I came down and saw him playing in the house. I have no idea how he was recovered," he said.
The boy was kidnapped by two motorcyclists while he was being escorted to the bus stop by maid servant Seema.
It is not clear whether the boy returned home after ransom was paid, or after police laid a trap and caught the kidnappers.
(With PTI Inputs)