Indian man stages own kidnapping to fund holiday

A man in the Indian capital, Delhi, faked his own kidnapping to fund a holiday with his girlfriend in Macau, police said. Pawan Verma, 22, demanded a ransom of nearly $43,000 from his businessman father. Mr Verma had a taste for high-life and had run up a debt of $18,000.

"Pawan's girlfriend demanded he take her to Macau on New Year's eve. He hatched a plan to fake his own abduction with the help of a friend, Himanshu Kumar," said deputy commissioner of police Jaspal Singh.

"Due to his limited earnings, he had accumulated a huge debt but he wanted to fulfil his girlfriend's wish.


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On Saturday, Mr Verma's father, Ram Sahay Verma, complained to the police that his younger son had been abducted and that he had received a ransom call. The police laid a trap and arrested Mr Verma when he turned up to collect his own ransom, police said.

"The [ransom] calls and SMS [text messages] were being made from Verma's mobile. Verma's elder brother Punit accompanied us to deliver the ransom. Six hours later a man in black jacket came to pick up the bag," Mr Singh said. "Punit was shocked to find it was his own brother."

Police said Verma's father would have to decide if he wanted to pursue a criminal case against his son. "If the father, who is a complainant in the case, decides to withdraw the complaint, the son can walk free with the orders of the court," a police officer said.