Teen Fakes Kidnapping for Ransom in Pune

A 19-year-old individual has been apprehended in Pune after staging his own kidnapping and demanding a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from his family. Om Prakash Gaurishankar, originally from Banda district in Uttar Pradesh, had moved to Pune in search of employment.

Struggling with financial hardship due to prolonged unemployment, Gaurishankar devised a scheme to obtain money from his relatives. He informed his family that he had been abducted and shared videos of himself appearing to cry to substantiate his false claim.

Acting on the family's report to the Uttar Pradesh police, their counterparts in Pune launched an extensive search operation on the night of August 16, 2026. Investigators utilized the mobile number associated with the fabricated kidnapping, which was traced to a location near the Crown Plaza Lodging in Khadki.

Upon arrival at the lodge, police discovered Gaurishankar, confirming that the kidnapping was a fabrication intended to extort funds. Preliminary investigations indicated no actual abduction had occurred.