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J&K governor's grand-nephew rescued from kidnappers

Basharat Peer in New Delhi

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Girish Chandra Saxena's five-year-old grand-nephew Akash, who was kidnapped on Tuesday night from Ashok Vihar in north-west Delhi, was found abandoned late Wednesday night in a jungle near Sultanpuri-Mangolpuri border in the same district.

Akash Saxena had gone to the Ashok Vihar market with his mother when he was kidnapped.

Playing with a toy chair back in the safety of his home, Akash told rediff.com: "A man came and offered me ice-cream and took me with him. I was very afraid but police uncle caught him."

Saxenas contacted the police soon after the incident. Police swung into action and the B-61, Ashok Vihar house of Saxenas was turned into a police station, with the deputy police commissioner (north-west district) and other senior police officers camping there. Over 20 police teams were sent out to hunt for the kidnapper.

"Kidnapper, Nitin Gupta's phone call for ransom gave us the clue," Sunil Garg, Additional Deputy Commissioner, north-west, told rediff.com.

Nitin Gupta is not a professional criminal. He worked as a contractor supplying cement bags.

Wednesday evening we tracked him down but there was no trace of Akash.

"It was around 10.30 pm that we received information that a child was found abandoned in the Mangolpuri jungles. It was actually one of Gupta's associates who tried to contact him on his cell phone that was in my possession. Realising that Nitin Gupta was in police custody and the game was over, he called a police number and gave the information about the child," Garg said.

When rediff.com spoke to the Saxenas, they denied any relation with the Jammu and Kashmir Governor G C Saxena.

Akash's grandfather, H C Saxena, said: "It is a case of mistaken identity. It is just that we too are Saxenas."

The Delhi police too were tight-lipped about the child's relation with the governor.

Garg, however, said the family is in someway related to the J&K governor.

A reliable source said Akash Saxena is the grand-nephew of the J&K governor.

Police maintained that the kidnapper knew nothing of the boy's relation with the governor.

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